Identity
by Crazedtroll
Summary: Set immediately after King Shark, Harry asks for a favour from the Diggles. Will they come through for him? I always rate T just in case. Can't find Jesse Wells or Jesse Quick in the drop down for characters!
1. Chapter 1

_**This is just a little bit of fun on my part. I have a thought for a second chapter, but don't intend to write it up unless there's enough interest. I'm working without a beta, so all mistakes are my own! Let me know what you think! Not my properties and I make no monies from this. -CT**_

He hadn't planned it to happen. Everyone was rushing around dealing with the aftermath of King Shark and suddenly Harry found himself alone in the cortex with the Diggles. There was an awkward silence as they all realized they were alone together. Sighing, Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes as he noticed John staring at him. As John held a hand up and opened his mouth, Harry nodded. "I know," the scientist said. "I look just like him. West tried to shoot me the first time he saw me and his partner did shoot me." His hand drifted up to his chest where the scar still ached at times.

"Damn," John mused. He hadn't known about the shootings. Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin hadn't mentioned it when they had been fighting Savage. "Guess it's dangerous to look like a confessed killer."

"Yes, deadly almost," Harry tersely replied. There was a moment of silence as he took a deep breath. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that," he declared. "I was wondering if the head of A.R.G.U.S. would be willing to do us a favour." As he spoke he focused on Lyla. Surprise widened her eyes and she turned to him, arms crossed.

"Us?" Lyla asked, eyebrow arched.

"Myself and Jesse," Harry clarified.

"Your daughter," Lyla checked. They had met the young woman briefly but Lyla wanted to make sure she had the connections right.

"Yes, my daughter. Would you do us a favour?" Harry tried to force himself to hold still. Asking for help made him nervous because he really needed the help and she could say no.

"Depends on the favour," Lyla answered honestly.

"As you may know, now that we have closed the rifts, Jesse and I are trapped here," Harry began. The Diggles both nodded. "We don't belong here and my alternate is not only dead, but a known killer." Lyla started to nod in understanding. "I was wondering if you could arrange some identities for us and perhaps a cover story to explain my genetic match to this earth's Harrison Wells."

"I will see what I can do," Lyla agreed. "We'll be in town one more day. I'll try to have something for you before I leave. Where are you staying?"

"Here," Harry answered, motioning at the lab around them. "There are some overnight rooms equipped with basic beds, showers in the locker rooms, and a full kitchen in one of the break rooms." While he was doing his best to stay cheerful about their lodgings for Jesse's sake, Harry knew they would need to make changes if they were going to be living there permanently.

"Man, that's rough," John said sympathetically.

"Could be worse," Harry answered, not really thinking. "When we moved to Central City we lived in a little one room hotel suite for three weeks while we looked for a house." He smiled, lost in the memories. "Jesse was a toddler. She cried herself to sleep every night we were there. Our first night in the house she ran around checking every room to make sure our stuff was still there. Took me hours to get her into bed." A chuckle escaped his lips, dying as he looked up into the incredulous face of John Diggle. "Sorry."

"No," John said with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. We have a toddler. It's just weird to see Harrison Wells lost in happy memories," John explained.

"I'll contact you tomorrow," Lyla declared. Cisco then returned and the group fell silent.

"Okay," the engineer said, cocking his head to the side and squinting suspiciously at the trio. "What did I miss?"

There was a moment of awkward silence before John smiled and patted Harry gently on the shoulder. "Nothing much. Harry was just sharing stories with us about toddler Jesse."

"Little girls can be such a handful," Lyla added with a grin.

"Right. Sure. I believe that, because Harry is so open about his life," Cisco replied incredulously.

"Actually," Harry began, stepping away from the Diggles. "We were discussing Jesse's adjustment to this world and I ended up reminiscing about our move to Central City when Jesse was a child." He nodded at the Diggles and then left the room.

"Is he as different from evil Wells as he seems?" John asked, while Lyla stepped away to make a phone call.

"In some ways," Cisco answered. "Some ways he is eerily identical." He shook his head and then held up a camera. "Can I get a picture of King Shark? For our files."

Glancing to Lyla, who nodded, John said, "Sure. Come on, I'll take you. Lyla has some official stuff to deal with." The two headed out, leaving Lyla on the phone.

 **The Next Day**

Barry was looking over the data they had on the rifts with Harry and Jesse. It was odd to see the father and daughter working together. They had some similar quirks which Barry found both amusing and unsettling. Knowing Harry had a daughter was different from seeing the two interact. Oddly enough, Harry seemed to be nervous about something, checking his watch frequently and having difficulty focusing. The speedster was about to call him on it when Harry's phone rang and he quickly answered. "Hello? You did? Excellent. Be right there." Harry practically ran from the room as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, nearly knocking Cisco over as the engineer entered followed by Caitlin.

"Apology accepted," Cisco yelled out at Harry's backside. The older man tossed a distracted wave without looking back. "Man, what is up with him?" Realizing Jesse was in the room, Cisco swallowed his irritation. "I mean," he began, trying to back peddle. He didn't want to bash Jesse's father in front of her.

"He has been acting off all day," Jesse agreed, looking in the direction her father had bolted.

"Yeah, distracted and worried," Barry added.

"Well, there is a lot on all our plates," Caitlin said with a shrug. While she was worried about Harry, she was willing to give him some space.

"How are you doing?" Barry asked, turning the attention on Jesse. She shrugged and tried to smile.

"I was kidnapped by a demonic speedster and held hostage for four months before being rescued and forced to flee my entire dimension," she said honestly. "Trying to adjust. Dad acting crazy isn't helping today." Once more looking in the direction he'd run, she sighed.

"I'm sure he's worried about you," Caitlin suggested, patting Jesse on the arm.

"Maybe," Jesse agreed. They turned their attention back to the rifts but didn't have long before Harry returned. "Hey Daddy," Jesse greeted him as he walked in, a pleased look on his face and an envelope in his hands.

"Oh, you're all here," Harry observed as Joe followed him into the room.

"Hey, just wanted to stop by and see if anything was going on. I saw the Diggles were just leaving," Joe explained. He looked around the room and realized nearly all eyes were on Harry and the envelope in his hands.

"I thought Lyla and John left yesterday," Caitlin said, frowning in confusion.

"They were just here?" Barry looked around, realized that the only person who had apparently seen them was Joe and possibly Harry. "Did you see them?" Once more all eyes turned to Harry as they waited for him to answer Barry's question.

"Yes, actually," Harry said, shifting from one foot to the other beneath their collective gazes. "They were dropping off something I had asked about."

"Yeah? What?" Joe demanded suspiciously as he eyed the envelope. Rolling his eyes, Harry stepped forwards and dumped the contents of the envelope out onto the table. Two passports, IDs, and a collection of credit cards tumbled out onto the table along with two copies of some sort of typed report. Frowning, Joe stepped forwards and looked more closely. "Fake IDs?"

"Real IDs," Harry countered. "For us." He motioned at himself and Jesse. Reaching out, he picked up her passport and handed it to her.

"Jesse Chambers," Jesse read, frowning at the picture.

"We can't be Wells anymore," Harry said, apparently reading her mind. "Lyla arranged for proper identification, bank accounts, and appropriate backgrounds."

"John H. Chambers?" Jesse read from her father's driver's license. "H?"

"Short for Harold, to explain why people call me Harry," her father supplied. "Apparently Harrison Wells never knew his biological parents so fabricating a twin brother raised by different adoptive parents wasn't a problem."

"Not sure you look like a John," Cisco said, reaching out and taking the passport with Harry's new identity on it. "Maybe a Johnny."

Harry just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Uhm," he began, looking to Barry. "I did want to ask you, Mr. Allen." He paused as he became the center of attention, yet again. "If it would be possible to get officially put on the payroll."

"Huh?" Barry blinked, confused.

"You do own S.T.A.R. labs now, right?" Harry made it both a question and a declaration.

"Oh, uhm, yeah," Barry agreed. "I don't know if we're generating any money."

"At least enough to pay Cisco and I," Caitlin said. "From products released before the explosion or under non-S.T.A.R. labs labels," she clarified.

"Excellent. In that case, Mr. Allen, I'd like to apply for a position as a research scientist," Harry declared. "I'm not asking for much, just enough to get a two bedroom apartment and some new clothing for Jesse. Enough to live on, basically."

"Oh, you're asking for a job," Barry exclaimed, catching up. "Uh, yeah. Sure. I'll, uh, I guess I'll have to figure out how to hire you as John Chambers."

"I can get him added to the payroll," Caitlin said with a smile.

"Oh, yeah, I have Caitlin handling the business aspects of the lab," Barry said, grinning childishly.

"Don't worry Dr. Wells," Caitlin said. "I'll make sure your wage will be enough to cover basic living requirements for you and Jesse."

"Thank you, Dr. Snow," Harry said.

"Johnny Chambers and his daughter Jesse Chambers," Cisco repeated the names, trying them on his tongue. "Wait, what about fingerprints?"

"Lyla checked, none on record for your Harrison Wells. John Chambers, however, has a record from his youth and does have fingerprints on file. My fingerprints," Harry waggled his fingers.

"So, if you get fingerprinted, the files that the cops will pull up will be for John Chambers," Joe surmised. Harry nodded as he examined his new identification and slipped it into his pocket. "Well, in that case, I think you have some bridges to mend." Grinning, Joe griped Harry by the elbow and led him away. "Let's go, you can practice answering to your new names on the way." Looking confused, Harry followed Joe down the hall, Jesse grabbing her ID and jogging after them.


	2. Chapter 2 - Introducing Johnny Chambers

_**Salutations! I received enough requests for more that I decided to try to keep going. I managed to get a story line plotted out and am going to post chapters after I finish them (while following my outline). That said, I have seen Trajectory and while my own story may be similar, it will be AU from after King Shark on. Please feel free to make suggestions or requests. I love input! Big thanks to everyone who has already commented and kept me interested. This is sans beta (I'm seriously a beta killer, though I can occassionally coax a former beta from the dead to beta a story - just not this one). Enjoy! - CT**_

Chapter 2: Introducing Johnny Chambers

Joe tried to suppress a smile as he watched Harry Wells, now Johnny Chambers, squirm. "I'm telling you this is a bad idea," Harry hissed at Joe, glaring at the detective. The only reason Harry had come along was because Joe had convinced him it was necessary if he wanted to integrate into this world. If he wanted to provide Jesse with the life she deserved, he had to make every effort to blend in and be accepted by this universe.

"Look, Johnny," Joe began, stressing the name. "She knew Dr. Wells better than anyone. If you can convince her of your identity, then you shouldn't have difficulty convincing anyone else." Harry pressed his lips together.

"Hey, Dad," Jesse began, leaning in with a tablet in front of her. "What do you think of this?" She offered him the tablet, winking at Joe. Frowning at the formula on the tablet, Harry took it, his worries forgotten.

In the other room, the secretary entered and put a file down in front of her boss. "These need your review and signature," the woman began. "Detective West is here with a Mr. and Mrs. Chambers to see you."

"Fine. Send them in, thank you Michelle," Tina McGee said, taking the folder and looking through it. She didn't look up as the door closed and then reopened and she heard several feet on the carpet. "I'll be with you in a moment."

"No rush, Dr. McGee," Joe declared, glancing at Harry and Jesse. Neither of them looked very comfortable.

Finished perusing the file, Tina closed it and looked up at the detective, Mr. and Mrs. Chambers blocked by West. "What can I do for you Detective West?"

"It's about the break in that happened here about four months ago," Joe began.

"Ah, yes. Detective Spivot returned my prototype. She never said anything about who took it or how she recovered it," Tina agreed.

"It was taken by Dr. John Chambers," Joe said, stepping aside so that Harry was standing before Tina's desk.

"Hello," Harry said, offering his hand. "I wanted to apologize for stealing your prototype."

A frown furrowed McGee's brow and she glowered at the man who slowly lowered his hand. "Is this some kind of stupid joke?" Tina demanded, standing and coming quickly around her desk. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you are anyone other than Harrison Wells?"

"Yes?" Harry shrugged. He didn't know what West expected to happen.

"Please. You walk in here with a new haircut and some random woman posing as your wife and you expect me to believe you are someone completely different?" Tina stepped back, crossing her arms and glaring from her former friend to the young lady he'd come in with.

"Ew," Jesse instantly said, looking horrified.

"Wife? She's my daughter!" Harry protested, before glaring at his daughter. "What do you mean by ew? I'm not ugly!"

"Daddy!" Jesse protested. Before the two could get into it, Joe stepped up.

"Hey, knock it off. Let's try this again. Dr. Tina McGee, allow me to introduce Dr. Johnny Chambers and his daughter Jesse Chambers," Joe said, giving them all stern looks.

"Please. He looks exactly like Harrison!" Tina protested.

"Look, I'm sorry I stole your prototype. Believe me, Patty made more than certain I regretted it," Harry said. "Detective West seemed to think coming to apologize to you in person would be appropriate; that you might be willing to not press charges. I'm sorry. I'll be going." He turned to head to the door.

"Harrison," Tina called. Harrison's look alike didn't stop, his daughter following him. "Mr. Chambers?"

"Doctor," he declared, whirling back to face her, a finger pointing at her. Tina looked him up and down.

"You really want me to believe that you're not Harrison?" Tina glowered at him.

"Yes," Harry said, trying not to sound exasperated and annoyed. He wasn't succeeding.

"Prove it," Tina ordered.

"How? I mean, I'm already walking when he couldn't. That isn't enough?" Harry shook his head, irritated with Joe for dragging him to McGee.

"No. I wouldn't put it past Harrison to have faked his injury," Tina answered, looking the man up and down. "Take off your shirt."

"Huh?" Harry stared, confused.

"Take off your shirt," Tina repeated, carefully enunciating each word.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Come on Dad, just pretend you're at my 13th birthday pool party," Jesse said, a smile teasing her lips. As she spoke she started tugging his jacket off.

"Okay, first off, I did that because you were nervous about wearing a bathing suit around your classmates," Harry began, stumbling back some as his daughter pulled his top layer off.

"Johnny, take the damn shirt off," Joe said. For a moment, Harry looked like he was going to argue, but after a look he shook his head and grabbed the ends of his shirt.

"If the walking part isn't going to convince you, I don't know what will," Harry grumbled as he peeled the shirt off.

"Please. Last year I walked in on you while Dr. Snow was stitching up your side. Look there's the scar," Tina declared, pointing at the jagged scar on the left side of Harry's abdomen.

"Daddy," Jesse exclaimed. "What happened? How did you get that?" She stepped up and stared at her father. "And this one." Reaching out she started to touch his scar from the shooting. "And this." Her hand hovered over a single scar high by his collar bone. She walked around him, studying him critically.

"They're nothing," Harry tried to assure his daughter.

"No wonder you've been hiding under that shirt," Jesse pondered. "How many scars have you picked up in the last four months?"

"She's right," Tina whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "Harrison was injured on the right side of his abdomen over a year ago. This is the wrong side and this injury is relatively recent."

"Can I put my shirt back on now?" Harry demanded.

"No," Tina countered. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. Frowning, she reached out and poked the scar.

"Ouch, hey!" Harry slapped her hand away and shot a look at Joe. The detective was struggling to suppress his amusement. "No poking." Harry settled for glowering at the woman.

"Okay, that's real," Tina said to herself. Reaching out, she rubbed at his right side. "Have you hidden it with makeup?" Once more Harry squirmed away, a giggle escaping his lips.

"Dad is ticklish," Jesse said with a grin.

"Turncoat," Harry shot at Jesse. "Our secret! You promised!"

"Dad, that was ten years ago," Jesse countered.

"Doesn't matter." Harry shook his head. Turning his attention to Tina, who was still inspecting his side, he demanded, "Do you mind?"

Instead of answering, Tina paced around the man, frowning at a tattoo on his back, over his heart. "Are these tattoos real?" The female scientist's question drew Joe's attention so that he followed her gaze.

"No, they're magic marker," Harry answered snarkily. At a look from Joe, the scientist rolled his eyes but fell silent.

"Did you know he had these three tattoos?" Tina looked to Jesse. The older woman was hoping to catch the two off guard in their little charade.

"Yep. He had the first two since before I was born and got the one in purple when I was two," Jesse answered. "I've seen them all."

"I assure you I have one tattoo that only your mother has seen," Harry informed his daughter without thinking. It made Joe and Tina look surprised and Jesse actually squealed.

"Ew, Daddy," Jesse exclaimed.

As the father and daughter exchanged a very father-daughter conversation, Tina studied the tattoos. There was one high on the back of each shoulder. On the left shoulder was what looked like the Celtic trinity cross done to look like an atom. It was an appropriate tattoo for a scientist. The one on the man's right shoulder was not what she would have expected. It looked like an eagle clutching a flint pistol, anchor, and trident. The one over the back of Harrison's heart was the oddest. It looked like something written by a child, with large letters in purple forming "H-O-H". The ink of all three tattoos had seeped into the skin with age. Obviously "Johnny" had gotten them years ago. Sighing, Tina finished rounding the man and stepped back from him.

"Tell me, Ms. Chambers, what did you call your mother?" Tina asked, still not willing to believe.

"Mommy," Jesse answered instantly. A smile tugged at Harry's lips.

"No, I mean what was her name," Tina said, shaking her head. The girl's father had pulled his shirt back on and was slipping his arms into his jacket sleeves.

"My wife's name was Libby," Harry said angrily to McGee. "Now, are we through here? Will you be pressing charges?"

"Libby?" Tina frowned at the name.

"Short for Liberty. Before she became Liberty Chambers her name was Liberty Bell," Harry continued. At the face both Tina and Joe made, the scientist shrugged. "I know. Her parents were a bit, well." He shrugged again and let the sentence die unfinished.

"So, you're really not Harrison Wells?"

"Look, I had nothing to do with the accelerator, or the death of Mr. Allen's mother. I'm just a guy trying to get his life back in order," Harry explained. He let out an annoyed breath.

"Why did you steal my prototype?" Tina wasn't willing to let the man walk out of her life. He looked so much like Harrison it seemed impossible. Still, the longer she studied him, the more changes she observed. His eyes were different, and he looked resigned. In his dark jeans, white shirt, black sweater, and black boots, he didn't remind her much of the Harrison she'd known or the man he'd become.

"I needed it," Harry began. Tina arched an eyebrow at him over her glasses. Sighing, Harry gave in and decided to tell as much of the truth as he could. "I needed it to save Jesse. She was kidnapped by someone trying to manipulate me into helping them."

"Who?" Tina demanded, watching him intently, looking for any sign that he was lying.

"A metahuman called Zoom. Black speedster," Harry answered tersely.

"Why did Zoom take her?" Tina asked.

"Because he thought like you do: that I'm Harrison Wells and that I would help him steal the Flash's speed," Harry answered honestly.

"Flash saved me," Jesse informed the older woman. For a long moment, Tina studied the father and daughter. Jesse had the man's dark hair, and her eyes were expressive and bright.

"Alright. I tell you what," Tina began, going back to her desk and sitting. "I will not press charges if you agree to come in and help my security team make it so you can't break into the lab again." For a moment it looked like Harry wasn't going to agree, but instead he nodded.

"Fine," he agreed.

"Excellent. It'll take us about thirty minutes to get you cleared with security and get you an ID," Tina informed him.

"Jesse, sweetheart, why don't you go home with West. I'll find my own way," Harry instructed his daughter. Nodding, Jesse turned to Joe and the two left, both glancing back once at Harry and Tina. Once they were alone, Harry turned his attention to the woman in front of him. "Alright, Dr. McGee, I'm all yours."

"No, Dr. Chambers, you are Mr. Scot's my head of security," Tina countered. Giving the man a serious look, she summoned her secretary, instructing the woman to get the head of security. She wasn't just going to let this Harrison look-alike into her life without taking precautions.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Greetings, sorry for the delay in posting. I'm trying to jump around between three or four different stories so I have some time between finishing and starting to edit. As I've said before, I'm a beta killer, but my former beta is now being a semi-pseudo-beta from time to time for me. So, while she's not done any work on this one (yet), a big thanks to her anyhow! As always, questions, comments, concerns are welcomed! Thanks to all who have left me comments previously! -CT -**_

 **Chapter 3: Discussions**

Joe and Jesse had been silent on the drive back to the lab. The detective didn't know what to say to the woman and Jesse seemed lost in her own world. They had stopped at a Big Belly Burger and grabbed food for everyone. Loaded down with bags and drinks, they walked the lab halls headed to the cortex.

"There they are," Cisco cheered, greeting the duo. "Oh and you brought food. Sweet." Grinning widely, he liberated a bag and drink from Joe.

"Where's Dr. Wells?" Caitlin asked after checking to see if the man in question was a step behind.

"You mean Dr. Chambers," Joe corrected. "We should start using that name so we all get used to it."

"Makes sense," Barry agreed. "So, where is Dr. Chambers?" The speedster grinned a little at the name.

"Dr. McGee has agreed to drop any charges provided that Dr. Chambers help fix the security at the labs," Joe explained.

"So she bought the twins separated at birth thing?" Cisco wasn't certain he believed it.

"She kind of had to when she made Dad take off his shirt," Jesse explained. The young woman looked mildly upset, as though something was bothering her.

"She made Johnny take off his shirt?" Cisco looked confused as he helped Joe and Jesse pass out food. "Double Belly Burger with cheese and avocado spread," Cisco declared, offering up the burger in question.

"Save it for Dr. Chambers," Barry suggested, remembering that it had been Thawne's favourite. Jesse made a face and shook her head.

"Only if you want to trigger his allergies and make him miserable," she countered.

"Right, he's allergic to avocados," Joe agreed. He hadn't told the others about his time with Harry after the scientist had been shot. It had been an interesting few days and he had learned some new things about both Harry and Patty Spivot.

"Weird," Cisco mused, the burger in question still in his hand. Frowning and shrugging, the engineer claimed the sandwich for himself, took his food, and sat. "So, what did Johnny doing a strip tease accomplish?"

"I would imagine it helped him prove he isn't the Harrison Wells that Dr. McGee knew," Caitlin mused as she examined her chicken sandwich before taking a bite. "I mean, the tattoos alone helped convince me. I would imagine the lack of a scar on the right side of his torso would help as well."

"You knew about all that?" Joe's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Looking up, Caitlin cocked her head to one side and nodded.

"Wait tattoos?" Cisco looked oddly amused and pleased to hear that Harry had ink.

"Yes," Caitlin said, answering both questions. "I gave Harry the same extensive physical exam I gave Jay." Letting out a long sigh she put the food down and opted for a drink instead. "Even though he had rapid healing, Thawne would have had a scar from the injury he sustained to his side before Christmas."

"Oh yeah," Joe agreed, his memory sufficiently jogged. "When he stole the tachyon prototype and beat himself up. That was a pretty nasty gash he managed to give himself."

"Uhm," Jesse looked up from her food, confusion filling her face.

"I'll explain later," Cisco supplied. Shrugging her acceptance, Jesse went back to her food, quickly getting lost in her own thoughts once more. "Dr. McGee walked in just after Caitlin finished stitching Thawne up," Cisco informed Barry and Joe. "So Johnny lacking the scar would have been pretty solid evidence that he isn't Earth 1 Harrison Wells."

"That and I think his tattoos are old enough that he would have gotten them when Dr. McGee was still friends with the real Harrison Wells," Joe supplied.

"She has one too," Jesse informed them. All eyes turned to her as she focused on her food. Realizing that they were all looking at her, she slowly looked up. "What? Dad and Aunt Tina got their science tattoos at the same time. The Celtic Trinity as an atom was a design they came up with together," Jesse supplied. "It was the first drunk story Aunt Tina ever told me about her and Dad."

"So, you guys are friends with Dr. McGee on your Earth?" Cisco couldn't believe what he was saying.

"She's my godmother. Apparently Dad had to get her really drunk for her to pluck up the courage to get the trinity tattoo with him," Jesse answered.

"Wait, he has a religious tattoo?" Cisco wasn't sure he believed it.

"Science as a religion," Jesse supplied. "This is my dad we're talking about. Every tattoo he has means something really important to him. The trinity atom symbolizes his dedication to science and a reminder to himself that sometimes you have to have faith in science." It was clear that Jesse had gotten a lecture about the tattoos many times.

"I can understand that," Caitlin agreed.

"And the 'hoh' in purple?" Joe asked, wondering what the hell it could mean. "On that weird spot on his back," he added, pondering why someone would get a tattoo there.

"Over his heart," Jesse explained. "I drew it when I was 2 after Dad explained some basic chemistry to me. He was so proud and decided it would be perfect for his tattoo for me." She shrugged and went back to eating.

"Hoh," Cisco repeated, confusion wrinkling his brow and making him frown.

"No," Jesse corrected. "H, O, H, with lines to show the bonds."

"H2O," Barry explained, understanding dawning. Joe continued to look confused so his foster son took pity on him. "Water, Joe. It represents water."

"Oh," Joe said. "Like that crazy science project of yours you swore was chocolate." A chuckle escaped from Barry as he nodded. "Anyhow, Dr. Chambers stayed behind to jump through all the hoops required to work in Mercury labs. Pity he won't get paid for the work there."

"At least he isn't going to prison for theft," Jesse supplied. Letting out a long sigh, she turned her attention back to her food.

"So, Johnny has two tattoos," Cisco mused, smiling.

"Four," Joe corrected. "He had another one with some sort of anchor and bird on it. Plus, he told Jesse that he has at least one that only his wife has ever seen." Joe arched an eyebrow.

"A lover's tattoo?" Caitlin looked up, a blob of mayonnaise in the corner of her mouth. Everyone stared. "What?"

"You have a little something just here," Cisco said calmly, motioning at his own face. Then he raised his voice some, "Also, you know about lover tattoos?"

"Oh, thanks." Taking a napkin, Caitlin wiped at her face with a napkin and then looked around the group. "Yes, I know about lover's tattoos. A friend in college had one." Realizing what she'd just revealed, her eyes went big and Caitlin turned away, burying her face in her sandwich.

"Holy Hannah," Cisco exclaimed watching his friend turn bright red.

"Can we please stop talking about my dad and lover's tattoos," Jesse begged.

"Here, here," Joe agreed. With a chuckle, the group changed subjects, discussing possible ways to open portals between dimensions and helping Barry get faster.

Nearly an hour later Harry returned, his hat covered head down, hands thrust deeply into his pockets. Without looking at anyone he tossed his backpack on the floor as he dropped into the chair next to it. Feeling their eyes, Harry glowered at everyone. "What?"

"We were just wondering how everything went," Joe supplied. The rest of the group nodded their agreement. Jesse had turned an intense gaze on her father. Frowning, Harry hopped up and prowled the room.

"Oh, grand. She's bought that I might be Johnny Chambers. Might being the key word. She had her security guard fingerprint me and a very inept nurse drew blood," Harry ranted, pushing a sleeve up to reveal a very bruised inner elbow. "Horrid woman chased the damn vein!" He brandished the three inch long bright purple proof of his declaration for all to see.

"Your veins are great, how did she even manage to miss?" Caitlin ponder. It earned her some odd looks that made her shrink down.

"Right?" Harry didn't seem to find her comment odd. "Oh, and tomorrow, I have to be there at 6:30 in the morning because that's when the security guard works. My new shadow anytime I'm at Mercury Labs. On top of all that she gave me a lecture about proper business attire. I'm supposed to wear a suit! Because I made sure to pack one when we were fleeing Zoom and our world!" His rant done, he grabbed up his bag and started to stalk out.

"I have some old suits you could borrow," Joe supplied, shocking everyone, even himself. It paused Harry at the door and he looked back. "I have an early shift at work. I can bring them by here around four tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Harry said. Pursing his lips together, he left the room.

"It could always have been worse," Joe declared, looking to Jesse.

"Now you guys just have to find a new place," Barry said, trying to look on the bright side. "I'd offer you the house Eobard left me, but I sold it and donated the money to charity. I couldn't stand the idea of benefiting from him."

"Don't worry about it, Barry," Jesse managed with a smile. "So, how is your progress going with getting faster?" It was obvious she was changing the subject, but the rest of the team let her.

The next day Harry was up and out of the lab before Jesse was even awake. For her part, the teen worked on memorizing her new life, paging through the history that A.R.G.U.S. had come up with for her and her father. It was clear that he'd given them some input as the background was fairly close to their own real lives. The biggest change was that she was no longer the daughter of the great Harrison Wells. She was supposed to have lived her life fairly normally and out of the lime light. She could handle that.

 **Mercury Labs the Next Day**

In the afternoon, Tina McGee looked up as Mr. Scot, her head of security entered her office. He stood, leaning casually on his crutches as he waited for her to take the time to greet him. Injured while serving overseas as a Marine, Mr. Scot had lost his entire left leg to an IED. Now he got around using a set of forearm crutches. Tina had seen him in action with them and knew that they didn't impede his ability to fight or move.

"Well, Mr. Scot, how was your first day with Dr. Chambers?" Tina asked, finally closing the file she'd been looking at her on her computer.

"Oh great. Though, I'm not entirely certain why you have me working with him," Scot answered. Tina would have offered him a seat, but she knew that he preferred to stand.

"Oh?" She had tried not to watch over Chambers the entire time he'd been there.

"He's a bit of an odd duck," Scot answered. "Struggles with names. Kept calling me things like Tuvok, Chekov, and Worf. Finally figured out he associated my name with something from Star Trek but kept coming up with the names of various Security Officers."

"Interesting," Tina mused. "So, he has problems remembering people's names?"

"And how," Scot agreed. "That said, he's bloody brilliant. The way he circumvented our security was damned impressive. It will also take us at least a week if not more to get all the changes in place he recommended."

"Why else do you think he's, what did you call it, an 'odd duck' so to speak?"

"Well, he wore a suit, but it looks like he either borrowed it or has lost weight and he was wearing a baseball cap pulled down really low. Guess he's taken a lot of crap for looking like Harrison Wells," Scot supplied.

"I see. Inform him tomorrow that if he wishes for our deal to stand, he will dress in business appropriate attire, including his head gear," Tina said sternly. "If he won't listen to you, let me know. I'm sure I'll be able to get him to understand."

"Yes ma'am," Scot agreed. "I'm sure I can convince him to remove his cover."

"Very good. Don't let me detain you," Tina informed him. A smile cracked his lips and he shook his head as he left her office. After watching him leave, Tina pulled the computer file back up on her computer. She had a friend in law enforcement who had run the DNA and fingerprints she had obtained from Chambers. Now she had everything on him she could find. It certainly made for interesting reading.


	4. Chapter 4 - Changes

_**Welcome to the next chapter! Apologies if I'm a bit slow updating. While I usually wait until I have the first draft of a story finished, I started this one as a oneshot and have been working on it since. That said, I have several chapters done and am working on getting additional ones finished. Please, feel free to leave reviews and comments. They keep me inspired! Thanks! -CT**_

 **Chapter 4: Changes**

Jesse made sure she was up before her father. He'd been burning the candle at both ends. He would go work at Mercury labs for at least eight hours early in the day and then return and put in several hours at S.T.A.R. Labs. It had been going on for nearly a week and Jesse could tell that her father was exhausted. While he'd been busting his buns, Jesse herself had been sitting around learning about their new Earth and drooling over housing options. When she'd realized just how badly her father was running himself ragged, she decided to start helping him out. She had just finished packing him a lunch when Harry entered the little kitchen they had claimed for themselves. He was rubbing at his face and trying to tame his wild hair.

"Good morning," Jesse greeted him brightly. Harry grunted for an answer, blinking bleary eyes.

"What are you doing up?" Harry squinted tiredly at his daughter. "How the hell do you manage to be perky at this hour?"

"I wanted to make sure you took a proper lunch with you," Jesse said, holding out a brown paper bag. "Strange to see you wearing a suit again. Is that one you borrowed?" Her eyes took in the suit he was wearing. It fit him well enough, though it was obvious it was a bit big for him.

"Oh, yes," Harrison said, looking down at his dress clothes. "One of Detective West's donations. He's a bit larger in the waist and shoulders than I am." He looked back up at his daughter. A smile ghosted across his face as he reached out to take the lunch bag.

"I think you look great," Jesse assured him, relinquishing the bag. "I made sure to label it for you."

"I can see that." Amusement flashed across Harry's face as he looked at the decorative "Dad" scrawled across the paper bag in multiple ink colours. "You didn't have to do that, sweetie," Harry said. "Thank you."

"I did have to do it," Jesse countered. "You've been doing all the work and I've just been sitting around."

"I'm your father. It is my job to take care of you," Harry countered. The two shared matching looks before Harry relented and smiled. "I'll be back late," he informed her. "Thank you, for lunch." He held the bag up before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead and heading out.

He arrived at Mercury Labs at the same time as former Gunnery Sergeant James Scot. "Gunny," Harry greeted the other man. Waving his badge over the entrance lock, James nodded a greeting to the man he'd been working with for the last week.

"Hey there Commander," James declared. "After you." He pushed the door open and watched as Harry walked through. Tina McGee was waiting at the security desk.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Tina greeted the two tersely. She had been watching John Chambers carefully and grown suspicious of a notebook he usually carried in his backpack. It seemed he worked in it whenever he was on break. "I was hoping to have a look at your notebook, Mr. Chambers."

"Doctor," Harry corrected her. Rolling his eyes, he unslung his backpack and dropped it at her feet. "Help yourself." With a disgusted sigh, he went and sat to watch Tina lean over and pick up his bag. "Not sure what you think you'll find in there." He crossed his arms and leaned back.

"I'm just curious to see what exactly you work on while you're here in my laboratories," Tina said. Carefully she opened the bag and started poking through the contents. Arching an eyebrow, she pulled out the lunch bag. "Your lunch?" She regarded it suspiciously.

"Jesse packed it for me this morning," Harry informed her. "The notebook you're looking for should be just beneath it."

"Mr. Scot, please look through this," Tina said, handing the lunch sack to the other man.

"Dr. McGee, you don't really think Johnny has something hidden in here, do you?" James asked as he took the bag and gazed in at the contents. "It looks like it's just food."

"Of course it's just food, Gunny," Harry shot back. Meanwhile, Tina had found the notebook and was carefully going through it. "That's my personal notebook. You'll find nothing in there relating to anything here. If there is, I assure you that it's coincidental." Letting out another sigh, Harry looked away.

"What are these calculations?" Tina asked, thrusting out the notebook. Rolling his gaze up to her, Harry pressed his lips firmly together and then seemed to give up.

"I'm trying to ensure that Jesse can return to her studies. Our lives were basically ruined so we're starting over," Harry explained. It was close enough to the truth.

"These are your calculations," Tina observed. She turned the page and frowned.

"Possible housing options," Harry explained. He continued to look irritated and annoyed, not turning away when Tina flipped the page once more and frowned. "A project I'm working on with Ramon," Harry supplied. Studying the equations and calculations, Tina McGee realized that Mr. Scot was right. Chambers was brilliant.

"What exactly are you trying to solve?" Tina looked over the myriad of calculations and equations.

"None of your business," Harry replied. He stood and stalked over, smoothing the too large suit shirt. "I have complied with all your demands. I let you examine my naked torso. You took my fingerprints and blood." He waggled his fingers in her face and then motioned at the crook of his elbow. "Hell, I've even spent the last week wearing a damn monkey suit and helping Gunny fix the security holes in this building. Now, what else do you want from me?" He glowered at her, unable to hide his irritation and annoyance. "Everywhere I go, your man follows."

"Sit down, Commander," James ordered. Glowering, Harry let out another irritated sigh, but sat. Taking Tina gently by the elbow, James pulled her out of earshot. "Dr. McGee, I understand your suspicion of the Commander, but I've worked with the man every day for a week now. I trust him and think you should as well."

"Why do you call him that?" Tina asked, looking over where the other man was sitting.

"Fellow service man," James declared. "Look, I'll tell you everything I've learned about him, later. Let us get to work so he can return to his paying job. The poor guy lost everything when Zoom attacked him. He and his daughter are having to start at the bottom of the barrel here. I mean, look at him. Even his suit is a loaner from a friend."

"Yes, I had noticed that," Tina agreed. "You said he has a paying job?"

"Yes. He's working over at S.T.A.R. labs as a research scientist. I don't know if you realize this, but he's been trying to put in a full work week there after he's been here," James supplied. "It's wearing the poor guy down."

"Is it?" Frowning, Tina looked over and studied the man more intently. James Scot was indeed right. The shoulders of the man in question were slumped and his eyes were closed as if he was about to fall asleep, dark bags coloured the skin under his eyes, and even at rest he seemed agitated and stressed. "I see your point. Very well. Report to me after Mr. Chambers has left today."

"Doctor," Scot corrected her with a grin.

"Doctor Chambers," Tina agreed. Taking a deep breath, she went back to the man's backpack, carefully repacked it and then carried it over to him. As she approached, Harry opened his eyes and slowly stood, a little surprised to see the apologetic look on Tina's face. "Dr. Chambers, please forgive me for my suspicions." She offered him his bag which he hesitantly took. "Can I join you both for lunch today?"

"Your labs," Harry informed her, slinging the pack over his shoulder. "Can we get to work now?" Nodding, Tina stepped out of his way. She watched as he moved past her and followed James Scot down the hall to the security room where they spent most of the day working.

Tina didn't join them at lunch. Harry didn't seem to mind as he was busy paging through housing listings. James not only joined him but tried to help. As much as Harry hated to admit it, he was starting to like James. The two men had a few things in common and a mutual respect for each other. It was also nice to have someone with an intimate knowledge of the city.

"Your daughter certainly wanted to make sure that you didn't go hungry," James observed as Harry picked through the contents of his lunch bag, which included a sandwich, yogurt, 2 hard boiled eggs, a bag of raw carrots and celery, an apple, a cheese stick, and three cookies. It made Harry chuckle and nod.

"Yes, she was a bit overzealous about packing my meal," Harry agreed.

"My baby girl is only four," James supplied. "I can't imagine her packing a lunch for me." Harry laughed.

"Jesse packed one for me when she was six. It mostly consisted of food with chocolate in it," Harry informed the other man. It pulled a deep chuckle from James and the two continued their lunch.

At the end of the day, Harry was getting ready to head out when Dr. McGee called him to her office. Since he wasn't allowed anywhere in the lab without an escort, James followed Harry up to the woman's office. While the two men sat waiting, Harry pulled his phone out to check for any messages. He was amused to find a texted photograph of Jesse goofing off with Ramon. He did frown at the thought of how close his daughter was getting with the young engineer. While James sat casually, Harry ended up hopping up from his seat and pacing the room.

"Dr. Chambers, Dr. McGee will see you now," the secretary said, looking over at him. Nodding, Harry headed towards the door. "Ah, Dr. Chambers. Have a seat," Tina said, looking up at him. As he was about to enter, his phone rang. Pausing, Harry glanced at the screen and frowned.

"Jesse," he muttered. As he looked up at McGee, she nodded.

"Go ahead, family is important," Tina assured him. Turning away from her, Harry answered the phone.

"Jesse, what's up?" He couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. She wouldn't have called him if something wasn't wrong.

"Daddy, how could you?" Jesse demanded sounding angry and upset.

"What?"

"Cisco and I found a file. Jay had it set to autoshare if he didn't put in a code," Jesse began. Closing his eyes, Harry hugged his free arm tightly to the bicep of the arm holding the phone. "It's a recording from the pipeline."

"Turtle," Harry breathed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Jesse, please let me explain."

"I can't believe you! How can you explain that?" She was practically yelling.

"Please, Jesse, I was trying to save you. Let's talk, face-to-face. I can be there in fifteen minutes," Harry begged. He was prowling the floor, his pace increasing with each second his daughter was angry with him.

"Fine," Jesse relented. "Fifteen minutes. We're waiting." The line went dead and Harry lowered the phone, glancing at the screen to confirm she'd hung up.

"Tina, I have to run," Harry declared, moving quickly to grab up his pack. "Family emergency. I'll see you tomorrow." Without waiting for a response he jogged to the stairs and shoved his way through the door. He didn't have time to waste waiting for an elevator.

He made it to S.T.A.R. labs in ten minutes. In the parking lot, he paused next to Snow's car. The entire trip over he had been trying to figure out what to say. He wanted approval from no one but his daughter. Jesse was all that mattered. If he lost her because of his actions while trying to save her, he would never forgive himself. Taking a deep breath, he opted to put it all out there and let her decide. Decision made, he stepped forwards, heading to the entrance.

Pain blossomed in the side of his neck and he slapped his hand over it without thinking. "Ouch," he muttered to himself as he found something lodged under his skin and pulled at it. Holding the dart up so he could examine it, he frowned. "What the hell?" Even as he realized what it was and started to look around, the drug hit his system.

The world started to blur and Harry blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear the haziness that was clouding in on everything. His limbs began to feel heavy and his knees buckled. Taking a deep breath, he fell against the car, the dart still in one hand. He shoved his free hand into his pocket, pulling out his phone. It felt like the gravity was tugging him to the ground as his muscles started to give out and his lean became a slump. Breathing became harder, and blackness edged in on the hazy world he was seeing. He fell to his knees, the phone dropping out of his hand. With a low groan, he reached out only to topple forwards. It should have hurt, hitting the pavement the way he did, but there was no pain. Everything felt oddly numb and he had to concentrate just to get his fingers to move. Footsteps slithered out of the darkness eating away at the little Harry could see. He couldn't fight them, not successfully. Struggling, he reached out, managed to get the phone to dial, shoved it back behind one of the tires, and then jabbed the dart into the same wheel.

"Well, well, Harrison," a distorted voice floated down to him. "So wonderful to see you again." Everything blurred together as somebody grabbed him and dragged him to his feet. Another groan was forced from Harry as he gathered what little strength he had left and swung a fist. He must have connected, because a grunt reached his ears and everything blurred again. Blinking, he realized he was on the ground once more. "You'll regret that," the voice said before everything stopped.


	5. Chapter 5 - Missing

_**Greetings. Pardon the delay. Balancing life and stories currently. Now, I know that the next episode to air on Flash is supposed to have the same basic plot, seen the previews. That said, I had already planned and penned this portion of the story when I found out about the episode airing tomorrow. sorry, but I'm not changing and I'm not trying to copy the show or predict it. At this point, I'm just writing how I would handle some stuff. So, forgive any similarities to what is going on in the show. This is pretty much my own creation from after King Shark on... That said, I hope to post the next chapter soon. We'll see. I'm trying to finish changes to Among the Living so I can keep posting on that and get back to writing this one! Hope folks are still enjoying this. Let me know what you think! Thanks! -CT - Oh, while my beta has read this portion, she's not taken her red pen to it, so all errors are my own! Sorry!**_

 **Chapter 5: Missing**

Silence hung over the lab and Cisco tried hard not to fidget while the group waited for Harry to arrive. Looking around, the engineer then dropped his gaze to his phone. "So, it's been an hour. Shouldn't Harry be here by now?" Cisco held his phone up for all to see.

Arms crossed and eyes red from crying, Jesse frowned and let out long sigh. "He's not coming. He'll probably slink in hours from now and hope we've forgotten," she declared.

"Jesse, maybe he just got tied up at work," Caitlin suggested. She could understand the teen's anger, but at the same time thought she could understand Harry's actions. "I'll call Mercury labs." Pulling out her own phone, she dialed, and received the operator. "I'm trying to reach Dr. John Chambers," Caitlin informed the man on the other line.

"One moment, I'll connect you to the head of security," the bored sounding man informed her. There was a brief blare of waiting music and then the line rang again.

"Security," once more a male answered.

"Yes, I'm trying to reach Dr. John Chambers," Caitlin repeated her request, glancing around the group. Jesse still looked angry, Cisco looked bored, Barry looked a little worried, and Joe wore an unreadable expression.

"I'm sorry, he left an hour ago," the voice answered. "Can I take a message?"

"Yes, if you see him, can you please have him contact Dr. Caitlin Snow," she requested.

"Sure, no problem. I don't expect him in again until early tomorrow though." There was concern in the voice.

"I see. Well, I should see him before then so never mind about the message. Thank you." Sighing, Caitlin ended the call and looked around. "He's not there."

"See, I told you. He's off sulking somewhere, angry that he's been caught," Jesse ranted.

"Well," Joe began. "I can't wait all night. Call me if he shows up?"

"Me too," Caitlin agreed. "I have to go run some errands."

"Okay," Barry nodded. "I'll stay and hang with Cisco and Jesse."

"Thanks." Managing a smile, Caitlin collected her purse and jacket and started for the exit. Joe followed her out and to her car. When they got there, Caitlin frowned as she realized that the front driver's side tire was flat. "Oh, no!"

"Don't worry," Joe assured her. "I'm not the Flash, but I can change a tire. Can you get out the spare while I give this one a look?"

"Yes," Caitlin agreed and fished for her keys as she went to get the spare and jack. Kneeling, Joe started to examine the flat. Something glinted in the light and reaching out, he plucked it from where it had been jabbed. "What is that?" Caitlin asked, coming to stand next to Joe, leaving the spare to rest against the car.

"Looks like some sort of tranquilizer dart," Joe hazarded. Squinting, Caitlin reached out and took the little object. "Somebody jammed it in there pretty hard. No wonder you had a flat."

"Why would somebody vandalize my car with a tranquilizer dart?" Caitlin pondered as she studied the dart. "Looks like there's blood on the tip." Her eyes going wide, she looked up so that her gaze matched Joe's. "You don't suppose somebody was shot with this, do you?" Lifting his eyes, Joe took in their surroundings.

"If someone was, the security cameras should have recorded it," Joe observed, pointing out the cameras directed their way. Nodding, Caitlin took out her phone and quickly called Cisco.

"Yo, Caitlin, what's up?" Cisco asked cheerfully.

"I need you to pull up the security videos of the parking lot for today," Caitlin said seriously.

In the cortex, Cisco glanced at Barry and Jesse before moving over to sit at the computer. "Okay, why?" He asked as he worked.

"I have a flat tire," Caitlin answered.

"Oh, you want me to see who vandalized it," Cisco said, thinking he understood. He worked rapidly, frowning when he tried to pull up the data. "Looks like the two cameras covering where you usually park went down for about fifteen minutes," he reported.

"You guys might want to get out here then," Caitlin said, frowning at the end of the tranquilizer needle. "Bring my collection kit too, please."

"Uhm, okay." Brow furrowed, Cisco ended the call and turned his attention to Barry and Jesse. "Caitlin wants us to come out to the parking lot. She has a flat tire."

"And she needs all of us?" Barry asked, eyebrow arched. Cisco shrugged for his answer and went to get the collection kit. "Why do you need that?"

"No idea. Caitlin just asked me to bring it for her," answered Cisco with another confused shrug. Together the trio trooped out of the building and over to where Caitlin and Joe stood waiting. "What's up?" Cisco asked, approaching ahead of the other two

"Joe found this jammed into the tread of my tire," Caitlin answered, holding out the dart.

"Cool," Cisco exclaimed, reaching out and taking the small bit of silver metal. "Looks like some sort of delivery dart."

"Barry, help me get this tire changed," Joe ordered. Nodding, Barry glanced once at the object the two S.T.A.R. labs employees were examining before moving to help his foster father. "Here, you get the jack positioned."

"Right," Barry agreed, taking the item in question and stretching out on the ground next to the car. As he positioned himself and looked for a good spot to put the jack, he frowned, spotting something else under the car. "You found the dart in the tire?" He asked, pulling his sleeve down over his hand and then using it as a barrier as he picked up the phone.

"Yeah. Why?" Joe leaned over, curious to know what else had been found. Sitting up, Barry held the phone out, quickly standing and putting it on the hood of the card. "That was under the car?"

"Yeah, almost behind the tire, like somebody didn't want the casual observer to see it," Barry informed him. "I think this is Johnny's," he added.

"What?" Jesse's attention snapped to Barry, the angry look gone from her face. Pulling out her own phone, she frowned. "I have a missed call from him. That's weird, my phone never rang." Tapping at the screen, she glanced over at the other phone. On the hood of the car, the screen of the mystery phone came on, displaying a recent picture of Jesse. "That's Daddy's phone," Jesse mumbled, shock chasing all other emotions away. "Why was his phone under your car?"

"Okay, calm down," Caitlin ordered. Even as she spoke, Joe pulled out his phone. "Joe, what are you doing?"

"Calling in a possible kidnapping," Joe declared.

"What?" The other four looked shocked.

"Look, it we want the world to believe that he's Johnny Chambers and not Harrison Wells, we have to call it in," Joe reasoned. "If we don't, it will look suspicious."

"Right," Barry agreed, seeing the logic. "I'll start processing this as a crime scene."

"I have everything you need in the lab," Cisco said, already moving.

"Hey," Joe said into the phone. "This is Detective Joe West. I need to report a possible kidnapping. Yeah, I'm at S.T.A.R. labs and while the victim hasn't been missing long, there are signs of foul play." He fell silent listening. "No, log the report and then transfer me to Cpt. Singh and I'll explain it to him." There was more silence and Joe took the moment to move over towards Jesse. "Do you have your history memorized?"

"Yes," Jesse answered, fighting to keep control of her emotions.

"Good, because you need to be spot on when I report this," Joe informed her.

"I'll do whatever you tell me to do," Jesse agreed. "Just, find my dad." Sensing that the young woman needed all the support she could get, Caitlin stepped up and offered her a supportive arm around Jesse's shoulders.

Several hours later Jesse found herself with Joe and Barry in the younger man's lab at the CCPD. Joe insisted that they do everything properly, which included having Barry run the sample he'd swabbed from the tip of the tranquilizer dart. He was also running what little had remained of the dart's contents. Caitlin, Cisco, and Joe were all on hand for support. After processing the crime scene, Barry had made sure everything was properly logged into evidence and then started working on analyzing everything he had collected. The tip of the dart needle tested positive for blood so he opted to try extracting DNA from cells he collected. Once that was done, he determined that there was enough to amplify and test, so he asked Jesse for a comparison sample. While they waited for the tests to finish running, Joe went over everything with Jesse one more time.

"You're sure that's his phone?" He asked, motioning at the bagged item. Barry had included it in the evidence.

"Yes," Jesse agreed.

"Log only shows the call he received from you, and then about ten minutes later he tried to call you. Any idea who might take him?" Joe felt like he was just going through the motions. As far as the world was concerned, Harrison Wells was dead. Nobody should be interested in Harry.

"Zoom, but I don't know why he'd need a tranquilizer," Jesse hazarded.

"Guys, the mass spec is done processing the drug," Barry informed them. Pulling up the results, he frowned. "It looks like some sort of high dose tranquilizer, but I've never seen anything like it before." Coming over, Caitlin rested a hand on Barry's shoulder as she studied the results.

"This almost looks like something I might give you," Caitlin informed the crime scene tech. "This would take a normal person out fast and keep him out for a long time. At a high enough dose, it might even cause respiratory or cardiac arrest."

"They killed him?" Jesse asked, losing the control she'd clamped on her emotions.

"No," Joe said sternly. "We don't know that yet."

"Joe's right," Barry agreed. "We don't know if this has anything to do with your dad. Maybe he just dropped his phone."

"Sun's coming up," Cisco said softly, staring out as the red rays of light poured over the city.

"He wouldn't stay out all night pouting," Jesse informed them all. "Something had to have happened."

"The electrophoresis should be done soon," Barry said. "Then we'll compare your DNA to whoever's was on the needle." Glancing at the instrument, he pointed, "See, all done." A few clicks and he had the results pulled up on the computer.

"That's a parental match," Jesse informed no one in particular as she looked at the results. "That's my Dad's blood on that needle."

"Why would somebody take Johnny?" Cisco asked.

"Maybe somebody didn't take Johnny," Caitlin hazarded. "Maybe somebody thought they were taking Dr. Harrison Wells." A worried look passed around the group as silence fell, and Jesse's eyes filled with worried tears.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Room

**Chapter 6: The Room**

At first, there was nothing. Suddenly, somebody turned his mind on using pain. Crying out, Harry woke, pain rushing up from his side. Gasping for air, he tried to take stock of his body. Eyes, opened but the light was too bright for him to process anything. He quickly closed them. At least he knew he could see light and dark. The pain in his torso and cheek told him that he was no longer completely numb. Struggling to breath normally, he felt his stomach roll, probably a side effect of the damnable drug they'd used on him. He heard the sound of the heart monitor and knew it was his heart beat.

"Wakey, wakey," a voice growled. It wasn't a voice Harry knew, but it still instantly made him feel worse. "I know you're awake. I saw you open your eyes."

"Bright," Harry managed to mumble. Something connected with his jaw and new pain flared.

"Wake up!" The voice demanded, making Harry snap his eyes open in a desperate attempt to placate whoever had hit him. He couldn't fight back if he didn't stay conscious. "Good."

It was still too bright. His brain responded and Harry blinked rapidly. An unfamiliar face came slowly into focus. It wasn't a friendly face but a nasty one. Angry eyes and white hair were about all Harry registered. The man leered at Harry and leaned forwards. "What do you want?" The Earth 2 denizen managed to ask.

"What, no hello? Not even for an old friend like me? Come on Harrison," the man teased, feigning hurt. Obviously, this man thought Harry was from Earth One. If he wanted to survive and get back to Jesse, Harry had to convince this stranger that he was John Chambers. Depending on what the man wanted, Harry might have to do so under the influence of truth drugs. That meant convincing himself.

"I'm not Harrison," Harry growled.

The other man laughed, leaning away from Harry "That's a good one, Harrison. I didn't know you had a sense of humour," he bellowed, slapping Harry hard on one leg.

"I'm not Harrison," Harry repeated, partly to remind himself. Harrison Wells was dead. He had to keep that in mind. He wasn't the Harrison Wells this man was talking about

The man hummed and leaned in close. "Alright," he said. "If you aren't Dr. Harrison Wells, who are you?"

"I'm Dr. John Chambers," Harry answered. It was true, at least on this Earth.

"Never heard of you before." The man shook his head. "You know, Harrison, I almost believed that you did die when that thing opened up in the sky nearly a year ago. When I saw you going into Mercury Labs, I did a double-take."

"My name is John Chambers," Harry countered. "I've been helping the security team at Mercury labs improve their measures." He took a steadying breath, wondering why his side hurt so badly.

"Right. Then why the hell do you look like Harrison Wells?" The man chuckled and looked over in a different direction. Under the bright lights, Harry couldn't see much of anything but the man.

"I was adopted," Harry answered. "So was he. From what I've been able to determine, we were monozygotic twins."

"Monozygotic? What the hell does that mean?" Irritation made the man's voice more of a growl. Despite his pain, Harry laughed, which annoyingly made the pain worse.

"Identical twins," Harry replied. "We grew from one ovum." His laughter broke down into a cough making him cringe in pain.

"Oh. Well, that's a very soap opera kind of explanation. Tell me something, Harrison," his captor continued, stressing the name. "How do you control your healing when you're unconscious?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lifting his head, Harry squinted, trying to make out details in the darkness beyond the light.

"Your side hurts because we took some tissue samples. It hasn't healed yet. Why?" There was a dangerous growl to the man's voice and Harry wondered if he would survive to explain himself to Jesse

"Because it takes a while for the human body to heal, idiot," Harry answered, irritation surfacing. He didn't like being threatened and he certainly wasn't going to let this man keep him from his daughter. With a grunt, Harry started straining against the bonds holding him to whatever he was seated on. It earned him a punch to the gut. "Ugh," Harry groaned, unable to collapse in since he was restrained.

"You know what I mean. I know you're a speedster, Harrison. Rather than capture Allen, I figured I'd just dissect you instead. Now, why aren't you healing?" The man punctuated his question with another blow to Harry, this time his face. As he cried out, Harry's head was thrown back from the blow. "Answer my question," the man snarled. Coughing, the scientist leaned forwards, trying to keep the blood that was flowing from his nose out of his mouth.

"Maybe if you'd stop hitting me, I'd be able to answer your damn questions," Harry snarled back. "I told you, I'm not Harrison Wells! My name is John Chambers! I'm not a speedster!" His attempts to avoid swallowing blood brought his face closer to his captor's.

"We'll see," the other man replied. He stood and stepped back into the shadows. "Colonel, take as much blood as you need. With his accelerated healing, he'll be fine."

"Yes, General," a woman's voice replied. Harry listened as a door opened and then closed. Swallowing down some fear, mostly for Jesse, he watched as somebody stepped forwards into the light. "Now," the female in a Medical Army Corp uniform began. "Let's get some blood."

Watching the woman come closer, Harry looked down at himself and realized that he was topless. "What did you do to my shirt?"

"Cut it off," the woman answered simply. In the bright light it was difficult for Harry to see the woman clearly.

"West is going to kill me," Harry grumbled. He watched the woman tie the tourniquet around his arm. "Do me a favour, don't chase the vein if it rolls." It earned him a chuckle from the woman, who was already carefully drawing blood. "Okay, I admit, you're a pretty good phleb," Harry mused, his eyes narrowing as he watched her work.

"And you are one strange guy," the woman responded, laughter making her voice light. "I had expected something a bit more sinister from everything that General Eiling told me about you." Finished collecting several tubes of blood, she rocked them four times and carefully placed them on a tray. Gloves still on her hands, she leaned forwards and carefully peeled a bandage from Harry's side. "I'm not an expert in meta-humans or speedsters, but shouldn't this be showing advanced signs of healing by now?"

"What the hell did you do to my side?" Harry demanded, frowning at his bloody torso. It looked like they had partially re-opened his wound from Grodd.

"I took muscle samples," the woman answered. "I wanted to just do a needle biopsy, but General Eiling insisted that I take a larger sample size. I tried to minimalize the damage I did. Why isn't this healing?" Her brow crinkled with worry.

"Because I'm not a speedster." Harry answered calmly. "I'm not even Harrison Wells. My name is John Harold Chambers! Not Harrison Wells!" He lost a little control towards the end so that his voice raised.

"Oh?" The woman arched an eyebrow at him. "I see." Taking several deep slow breaths, Harry got control of himself and then opened his eyes and tried to focus on the woman.

"Look, my name is John Chambers. I came here when a meta-human named Zoom kidnapped my daughter, Jesse. With the help of the Flash, I was able to rescue her," Harry tried to calmly explain to the woman.

"You look like Harrison Wells," the Colonel observed. Rolling his eyes, Harry shook his head.

"My twin brother, apparently. If you don't believe me, take my DNA and run it through a Military DNA database," Harry suggested. The woman let her gaze flit over him as she started applying additional sensors to his chest. "I'm not a speedster," Harry stressed. "All you're going to find out is that I'm normal."

"We'll see." The woman leaned into the light, giving Harry a good look at her. Eyes going wide, Harry fell silent and watched her finish working and then leave. Once she was gone, he let his head fall and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Jesse," he whispered, wondering where she was and if she was still angry with him. "Please don't give up on me." Falling silent he continued to cry, his heart hurting worse than his side. He had to get back to his daughter. That was all that mattered. This was just one more nightmare that was his life on this Earth, nothing more.

In the other room, General Wade Eiling paced the floor, watching the Colonel work. "Why isn't he healing?" Wade demanded angrily. The female doctor was already working on the samples she had collected. "He must be controlling it somehow."

"His cells appear completely normal," the Colonel replied, studying a sample under her microscope.

"No, he's a speedster," Eiling insisted. He continued to pace the room for a moment.

"Would you kindly stop that!" The Colonel whirled away from her microscope and stalked up to the General. She only came up to mid-chest on Eiling, but didn't seem intimidated by him. "I find it highly irritating to have somebody prowling my lab who isn't contributing to my work!" Her green eyes locked on Eiling as she glowered up at him. Taking a step back from her, Eiling frowned and then turned away.

"Keep working on the samples. I'll go see if I can extract the truth from our patient." Grinning evilly, Eiling left the room. Sighing, the Colonel blew a dark strand of hair out of her face and returned to her microscope.


	7. Chapter 7 - Investigation

_**Greetings! My apologies for the long wait between chapters. I have a lot going on right now, including work, kids out for summer break, a family member in hospital, and pending family vacation. That said, I hope to keep writing as it is how I deal with stress. Unfortunately, I don't know how quickly I'll get to editing and posting stuff. I have several chapters of this done, the next chapter of Slow Burn written, another chapter for Bearrison Wells typed up, and am working on edits to Amoung the Living. Just be patient with me and keep encouraging me and I'll keep chugging along. That said, thanks to DoctorHarrisonWells, Scoobyice8, Lady Sarlon, and Zannabanana for helping me out. You guys have been great about being supporting and encouraging. Thanks! - Troll**_

 **Chapter 7: Investigation**

Tina McGee frowned at head of security Mr. Scot. "What do you mean he hasn't come in yet today?" Shifting his weight on his leg and crutches, James returned her frown with one of his own and then a shrug.

"Just what I said, Dr. McGee. Dr. Chambers hasn't come in yet today," James replied.

"And this worries you?" Tina said repeating the rest of his previous statement. The man standing across from her nodded. "Why?"

"A few reasons," James replied. "First, he was clearly upset when he left here. Second, I received a phone call last night before I headed home. It was a Dr. Caitlin Snow looking for Johnny. When I informed her that I didn't expect to see him again until today, she said not to worry about giving him her message." Letting out a breath of air, he shifted his weight and started pacing the room, his crutches punctuating each step with a creak.

"That does seem unusual," Tina agreed. "Interesting that Dr. Snow knows about Mr - Dr. Chambers," Tina mused, managing a smile as she corrected herself. James opened his mouth to say more but fell silent when Dr. McGee's intercom buzzed.

"Sorry to interrupt Dr. McGee," came the secretary's voice. Glancing at her head of security, who nodded, Tina turned her attention to the speaker.

"Not a problem, Ms. Timlin," Tina replied. "Go ahead."

"Detective West is here again," came Timlin's response.

"Why?" Tina asked, immediately confused.

"He said it's related to a case," came the response. Tina's eyes flicked up to James.

"Send him in," Tina decided. A moment later her door opened and Joe entered, a serious look on his face. Standing, Tina came around her desk and offered her hand. "Detective West, nice to see you again. I was just thinking of contacting you. Dr. Chambers failed to show up today."

Joe took her hand briefly before stepping away and pulling out his notepad. "Well, that answers one question," Joe mused more to himself than anyone else. "I'm sorry to keep bothering you Dr. McGee."

"No bother. My secretary said you were here on a case," Tina informed him.

"I am. Dr. Chambers failed to return home last night," Joe supplied. Tina and James exchanged looks, but the head of security stayed quiet.

"I thought police didn't usually start investing a missing person until 24 hours had passed," Tina supplied. She was desperate for more information, but didn't want to just come right out and ask.

"This case is special circumstances," Joe said, skittering away from answering any questions. "What time did you see Johnny last?"

"Last night," Tina supplied. "I was getting ready to talk with him when he received an urgent phone call from his daughter."

"Right, I was on the other end of the line," Joe agreed. "When did he leave here?"

"Immediately," Tina said. "He seemed highly agitated by the call and asked if we could postpone our meeting. I agreed and he literally ran for the stairs."

"About an hour later, a Dr. Caitlin Snow called here looking for Johnny," James added, leaning forwards on his crutches. "What special circumstances?" Looking up from his notepad, Joe studied the other man.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that," Joe supplied. "You haven't seen or heard anything since?"

"No. Have you talked with his daughter?" Tina gave James a look. They both had questions but it was clear the detective wasn't interested in sharing much.

"Yes. Johnny didn't make it home from here." Joe looked back and forth between the other two. "You sure you don't know anything else?" This time Tina looked to James, her eyes conveying that he could take over the conversation.

"No sir," James supplied. "Johnny said he'd see us in the morning. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment, no," Joe said, letting out a sigh and putting his notebook up. "I'd like you to contact me if you think of or hear anything else."

"Of course," Tina agreed. "You know your way out?"

"Yes, thank you." Noding his head, Joe headed out. He was surprised when the security guard followed him, moving extremely quickly on his crutches.

"Detective West," James said, stopping next to Joe at the elevators. "I'd like to talk to you."

"Sure, but I can't talk about the case," Joe said.

"I've been working with Dr. Chambers for a week now," James began. "I can tell you that his daughter is the most important thing to him. He wouldn't just abandon her. I was wondering if you've looked into the possibility that John was mistaken for his brother."

"You think somebody with a vendetta against Dr. Wells has something to do with Dr. Chambers being missing?" Joe had already considered that possibility. He just didn't know where to start.

"I know that Johnny wore a hat any time he went out in public, afraid he would be mistaken for Dr. Wells," James supplied. "He was trying too hard to take care of his daughter to just leave her now."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you," Joe said, nodding. The elevator arrived and Joe got in, before it closed, James reached out and stopped the door from closing. "Yeah?" Joe looked up at the other man, a questioning eyebrow raised.

"If it might help," James began, shifting his weight on his crutches. "I can give you copies of our external surveillance for the days that Johnny was here." Joe studied the other man, a little surprised to realize that for whatever reason, the security guard cared about Harry.

"That would be very helpful," Joe agreed. James joined Joe on the elevator, checking to make sure Joe had selected the correct floor. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," Joe said. "Detective Joe West." He offered his hand. Putting all his weight on one crutch, James let go of the other and took Joe's hand in a firm shake.

"James Scot, head of security," James declared. There was a moment of awkward silence where Joe tried hard not to stare at the space James's leg should have been. "Go ahead and ask," James ordered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare," Joe began, feeling embarrassed.

"You were doing an excellent job of not staring," James agreed. "Sometimes not staring is worse. I lost it to an IED."

"You served?" Joe wasn't surprised. Everything about the man screamed training, discipline, and control. "Which branch?"

"Marines. Gunnery Sergeant." James didn't look at Joe, instead staring straight ahead. "Part of the reason Commander and I got along so well." He wondered if the detective knew about Johnny's past.

"Right," Joe agreed. He'd pulled Harry's ARGUS provided file. The military history had surprised him, but at least he knew what Scot was talking about. "How often do you review the security footage?" The elevator dinged and the detective followed the head of security own the hall.

"Johnny insisted that we review them each morning. He helped me program parameters into the computer program and have that scan through the recordings." James explained. Obviously the detective knew Dr. Chambers at least as well as James. It made him feel better about the man he was letting into his territory. The head of security swiped his badge, the lock clicked, and he shoved the door open with the end of one crutch. "Have a seat, I'll get the computer started on copying everything."

"You'd think if you were reviewing it every morning you'd catch anything suspicious," Joe mused.

"Yes but if it has something to do with Harrison Wells, Johnny might not know who or what to look for," James pointed out. He worked at the computer; Joe watching the man's fingers fly over the keyboard.

"I hadn't thought of that," Joe agreed. "How long will this take?"

"Maybe another minute" James answered. "Is Johnny's daughter upset?"

"Yeah." Joe agreed. "The rest of us are doing our best to help her stay calm."

"I never met her." James double checked something on the computer and then removed a thumb drive. "Here you go, Detective. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you."

"I will. Thank you," Joe agreed, taking the offered thumb drive. "Do I need an escort out?"

"Nope," James informed him. "Just take a left out the door and that hall will take you right to the atrium. None of the other doors will open without a clearance badge."

"Thanks." Tucking the thumb drive into his pocket, Joe headed out.

From Mercury Labs Joe went over to S.T.A.R. labs. When he entered the cortex he wasn't surprised to find Caitlin, Cisco, and Jesse all intently working. "Hey," Joe greeted them. "Nothing at Mercury Labs, though they did give me all the external surveillance for the days that Johnny was there," Joe said, putting the drive down on the table next to the computer.

"Great, I'll start going through it," Cisco said, grabbing up the thumb drive and plopping down in front of the computer.

"Who would take my dad?" Jesse asked. She was worried and terrified. While she might be angry about her father killing Turtle, she didn't wish him harm.

"Dr. McGee's head of security seemed to think we should be looking for someone going after Dr. Wells," Joe said, putting a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I have his description out there so if anybody sees him or finds him, it should come back to me."

"Oh man," Cisco said, his voice filled with worry and dread.

"What?" Jesse asked, moving to look over Cisco's shoulder.

"I think I may have found something," Cisco said. Typing a few keys, he put an image up on the plasma.

"Is that General Eiling?" Caitlin asked, stepping forwards as she gazed at the image.

"I think it is," Cisco agreed. "And it looks like he's staring at Johnny." The engineer frowned, wondering what the military man wanted from Harry.

"Why would Eiling take Johnny?" Caitlin asked, frowning at the screen.

"Who is General Eiling?" Jesse asked, staring at the picture.

"Somebody not good," Cisco said. Dread settled in his stomach and he felt ill.

"Don't worry, Jesse," Joe said. "We won't give up on your dad. Let's find out everything we can about Eiling. I'll update Barry, he's working on other cases at work." Glancing one last time at the computer, Joe pulled out his phone and turned away. He was going to do everything he could to get Harry back safely.


	8. Chapter 8: The Colonel

_**Sorry for the long delay. Life went crazy on me. I'm doing my best to keep writing and editing but the editing gets left behind when things go nuts. Apologies. Big thanks to everyone who is still sticking with this. I've not dropped it, just jumping around working on multiple stories. Thanks! - Troll**_

 **Chapter 8: The Colonel**

Science and medicine were her life, so it was easy for her to get lost in her work. The fact that her patient was Harrison Wells didn't bother her much. What bothered her was the fact that General Eiling insisted that the man was a speedster but everything she was looking at was normal human. Inquisitive by nature, the Colonel had of course taken the man's fingerprints and DNA and run them through all the databases to which she had access, but it took time to get those results. So, while the DNA tests ran, she worked on other things. The man had been in their company for over a day now and still showed no signs of rapid healing. Colonel Lawrence had been a little worried at first because of Dr. Wells's poor reaction to the tranquilizer dart. It had suppressed his breathing to such a high degree that she'd had to put him on a respirator for a period. Now that the drug had been metabolized by his system he was doing better, but if he'd been a speedster he shouldn't have reacted that way.

Absorbed in her work, she didn't hear the screaming, thuds of blows landing, and shouts coming from the other room, though her mind registered that Eiling seemed angrier than usual. She had just finished looking over the DNA results when the database kicked out some files. Curious she rolled her chair over to the computer, frowning at the information she was greeted with. "This can't be right," she muttered to herself. The door opened and Eiling entered, growling back towards his captive, and shaking his hand. The knuckles were raw and bloody. Groans of pain coming from the room caught her attention and Colonel Lawrence turned away from her computer, pressing print as she did.

"Fix him," Eiling demanded. "Make him use his healing and speed!" In the other room, their captive was shouting and screaming in pain.

"What the hell did you do?" Pushing past Eiling, the Colonel rushed in to check on her patient.

Strapped to the chair, Harry was screaming and thrashing, throwing his head from side to side with his eyes tightly closed. The skin around them was bright red and smoking, blood ran down his face and chest from small cuts, livid bruises marked most of his body, and he kept opening and closing his hands, straining to free them. Realizing that Eiling had thrown something in the man's face, the Colonel ran back into her lab, grabbed an eyewash bottle, and raced back to her patient. "Hold still," she ordered.

"Burns!" Harry shouted, his eyes clamped shut.

"Hold still and open your eyes," she ordered, grabbing the back of his head to control it while she pressed the wash bottle to his eyes and squeezed. Water rushed out and into Harry's eyes, easing the burning sensation and his cries of pain changed to whimpering. "Good, keep them open," the Colonel instructed.

"Like fire," Harry muttered, his throat raw from screaming. "Please, make him stop," he begged the woman. "Lib, please. I'm not Harrison Wells. My name is John Harold Chambers." He rattled off a series of numbers. "That's my service number. Please, Jesse needs me."

"Just keep your eyes open," she ordered, her gaze roving over his body, cataloging injuries. "What in the hell has he done to you?"

"I was just trying to motivate him to use his healing," Eiling said from the doorway. He was watching with a deep frown on his face and his arms crossed. "Drugs got us nowhere so I figured we would stimulate his healing abilities."

"He doesn't have rapid healing," the colonel shot back. "I ran his fingerprints and DNA." The entire time she spoke, she continued to use the wash bottle to flush the chemical from her patient's eyes.

"He's Harrison Wells," Eiling growled.

"My name is John Harold Chambers," Harry yelled, pulling his face away from the dying stream of water. "I don't have any powers. I'm not a meta-human."

"Liar," Eiling snarled. He strode forwards only to have the short Colonel block his path. For a moment they stood glaring at each other before the woman moved past him into her lab and returned with the paperwork she'd printed up.

"He's telling the truth," she said, roughly shoving the file into Eiling's hands. "His name is John Harold Chambers, retired Navy Commander. He was a Seal, damnit. Even if he was Harrison Wells, I cannot stand by and let you torture him!" Eiling glared down at the woman.

"Colonel, do I need to remind you that I am your superior officer and can have your rank in no time?" Eiling threatened. She didn't back down. "Or that I could break you with just a finger?"

"General Eiling, need I remind you that I am a scientist with access to chemicals that would kill you and you'd never know it was me?" Their gazes locked and Eiling was shocked to discover that the woman had no fear in her eyes.

"You wouldn't dare." Eiling figured she had to be bluffing.

"Lay a finger on even a hair of Commander Chambers and I will indeed dare," she spat back, her green eyes practically glowing with anger. Sneering, Eiling dropped the papers to the floor and launched himself at his prisoner. Something caught his fist, spun him around, swept his feet out from under him, and pinned him to the floor. "Warned you. Now, go to sleep. When you wake up, this torture and your career will be over." Something jabbed into the back of Eiling's neck and in a matter of moments he was drooling on the floor asleep.

"What's going on?" Harry demanded, blinking in an attempt to clear the darkness from his eyes.

"Doctor Chambers, I am so very sorry," her voice floated out of the dark, music to his ears. He felt air against his face. "Can you see me?" As she spoke, he could hear a strange sound down by his left hand and suddenly it was free. Gasping against the pain he groped in the darkness until he felt flesh. "I'll take that as a no," her concerned voice sounded as he followed the flesh on her neck up to her face.

"What the hell did he do to me?" Harry explored her face for a moment, before moving his hands to his own skin.

"He's exposed you to one of the chemicals. I'm not sure which. You should heal in time. I think we got your eyes flushed quickly enough. Come on, he'll be out long enough for me to drop you somewhere safe, write, and submit a scathing report of his abuse. Your daughter and coworkers have reported you missing."

"I do hope someone has told you that you're beautiful," he whispered. She didn't respond and he fought the urge to reach out and touch her once more. He already had the feel of her face memorized along with her voice. Instead, he focused on his surroundings. He could hear and feel the woman undoing the bonds and removing the sensors attached to his body.

"Not in a long time," she informed him. "Now, do you think you can walk?" With her help, he managed to get out of the chair and out of the building. "Easy, step up." Harry's bare feet were cold and almost numb, but he could feel the pavement as they stepped out into pouring rain. "I can't stay with you, but I'll make sure you get safely found," she assured him. He staggered some so that she had to slip under an arm, taking more and more of his weight as she led the way to a van. Luckily, they didn't encounter anyone. In the van he collapsed, having endured too much pain and trauma to remain conscious.

 **CCPD Precinct**

At the precinct, Joe was glaring at his computer screen. He'd been at the station for a few hours and it was getting late. Harry had been missing for over a day, and Joe was really starting to worry. As he sighed and rubbed at an eye, Barry came over and leaned against Joe's desk. Looking up at his foster son, Joe shook his head. "It's no use. I can't find him anywhere and the Army isn't going to give us anything."

"West," Singh called from his office. "Get in here." A moment later Joe entered his boss's office, Barry waiting just outside the door.

"You wanted to see me Captain?" Joe hoped it wouldn't take long. He didn't want to be away from his desk for too long.

"Yeah. A man was found by some teens in the parking lot of their high school," Singh began. Joe's heart lept.

"Is it Johnny?" The words were out of his mouth before he had time to think, and at the look Singh gave him, Joe realized he should have thought them through.

"Johnny?" Singh arched an eyebrow. "Yeah, he matches the description Jesse Chambers gave us," he continued. "The hospital ran his prints and came back with some Navy Commander's name and face." Opening a file, he pushed it across the desk to Joe. Eyes flicking to the photograph, Harry in full dress uniform, Joe nodded.

"Yeah, that's Doctor John Chambers," Joe agreed.

"Come on, Joe. Anyone can see that is Harrison Wells!" Singh exploded out of his seat and glowered at his detective.

"I know, that's what we thought at first," Joe agreed. "But, we ran his fingerprints and DNA and found out the truth. Apparently he and Dr. Wells were identical twins,"

"Really? I don't suppose you have fingerprints on Wells," Singh said.

"No." Joe shook his head. "You could try asking at S.T.A.R. labs," Joe suggested. He didn't know if they had anything, but he hoped that it would be enough. "You can also try talking to Johnny. Where is he?"

"He was badly injured," Singh supplied, watching Joe frown as Singh pushed another set of photos across the desk. "An ambulance transported him to Central City Memorial hospital. I understand he's stable but unconscious."

"His daughter will want to see him," Joe informed Singh.

"You can contact her," Singh agreed. "But I'm taking you off this case. Allen as well. Until I can confirm that he's John Chamber and not Harrison Wells, I don't want either one of you two near this." He narrowed his eyes as he watched Joe react.

"Yes sir," Joe finally agreed.

"Good. Oh, Joe, no warning Ramon I'm coming. I have another officer waiting to sit with you while I finish carrying out this investigation."

"Yes sir." At Singh's nod, Joe knew he was done and left the office. Barry was still waiting but now there was another officer there as well. They could only hope that S.T.A.R. labs could come up with something to convince the Captain of Harry's innocence.


	9. Chapter 9 - Because Science!

_**Salutations! I know, I know, "Troll, where the hell have you been. The new season has started and you've not updated! More! I need more!" Sorry. I've been busy. From here till the new year my life is very busy, between birthdays, holidays, and all that jazz. I'm trying to find time to write. I really am, but that means I'm writing and not editing! Hopefully you'll forgive me.I'm still flying sans-beta, so all mistakes are my own. As always, big thanks to my Rubber-Zombie-beta DoctorHarrisonWells. Also, a shout out to**_ zannabanana, scoobyice8, Lady Sarlon, _**and all others who have taken the time to message me or leave me a review. They really do help keep me motivated. I'm trying not to start anything new until I make some progress with everything I currently have running. That said, I do have a new story I started that is AU from end of season 2 on and will contain NO spoilers for season 3 as it will be completely AU. Let me know if anyone is interested in me posting any of it. Still not my sandbox, I'm just playing in it! - Troll**_

 **Chapter 9: Because Science**

Singh looked around the labs, watching Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon work at two computers. "Fingerprints for Dr. Wells should be on file," Caitlin said, looking up from the computer.

"I need to see you bring them up so I know they aren't altered," Singh informed her, leaning forwards so that he almost loomed over them.

"Of course. I understand. If you'd like, I can talk you through it," Caitlin offered, shifting over so that the computer was available. Nodding, Singh sat in the seat she'd motioned at and followed her instructions. "Now, we don't have Dr. Chamber's fingerprints yet, but Dr. Wells had his prints integrated into the system for security measures."

"That and it was how he activated the accelerator," Cisco mused. "Once you get them pulled up from the security system, you can either print a copy or e-mail yourself." The engineer glanced worriedly at Caitlin, who seemed oddly certain they were doing the right thing.

"I'll take a printed copy and a digital copy," Singh declared. He found the files and printed and e-mailed them to himself. "Thank you." Fingerprints in hand, the captain left the labs and headed back to the precinct.

"Caitlin, did we just do the right thing?" Cisco turned his attention to the female doctor and his eyes narrowed. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"We did exactly the right thing," Caitlin assured him. "I've already compared Harry's fingerprints to those of Dr. Wells. It was one of the first things I did as part of Harry's tests when he first arrived."

"They should be identical," Cisco said, frowning in confusion.

"If they were actual doppelgangers of each other, yes. However, the Wells we knew was really Eobard Thawne. While he was able to steal DNA from the real Dr. Wells, he couldn't steal fingerprints. See, fingerprints are influenced by DNA but are also affected by conditions within the womb, so that identical twins may have identical DNA but not prints. Their prints will be similar but not the same." As she spoke, Caitlin pulled up the files for both men, showing Cisco what she'd found. "So, while our Dr. Wells had several loops and whorls, Harry has double-loop whorls on nearly every fingertip. They look similar but are noticeably different."

"So it really does look like they're just twin brothers," Cisco mused, studying the two sets of prints intently. "That is just too cool. You'd think a technology that would allow you to steal someone's face would also allow you to steal fingerprints."

"It would require a fingerprint scan before the DNA transfer. We both saw the remains of this Earth's Dr. Wells. They were so damaged by the DNA transfer process that Thawne couldn't have taken them. From what Thawne told me about how he took the place of Dr. Wells, he didn't have had time to get a finger scan."

"So, the file we provided Captain Singh should prove that Johnny is just a brother and not Harrison Wells," Cisco determined. "All right." They attempted a high-five but stopped mid-air when they remembered how badly those could go. Looking a little flustered, they dropped their hands. "Let's get to the hospital."

"Right." Nodding her agreement, Caitlin got to her feet and was to the door almost faster than Cisco.

 **Hospital**

At the hospital, Jesse was pacing the hallway while Barry and Joe sat in chairs lining the wall. Captain Singh had allowed them to come, but he'd made it clear that nobody was going to see Harry until the captain was convinced of Harry's identity. Singh had no idea why Joe and Barry would want to help Nora Allen's killer, but they clearly knew the man in question and hadn't turned him in to the police. This suggested that Joe and Barry were trying to protect Wells for some reason. The police captain wasn't going to let anyone in until proof of identity had been clarified. This left the group to wait, uncertain of their friend's condition.

"Do we know anything?" Caitlin asked, pausing next to the group. She and Cisco had arrived only moments ago, but were having problems waiting patiently.

"Nope and Cpt. Singh has him isolated until he is convinced Johnny is Johnny," Joe answered. "He isn't in the prison wing, but they have him restrained."

"Daddy doesn't hold still well," Jesse supplied, worrying furrowing her brow and making her nibble at a nail.

"He was unconscious when they brought him in," Joe informed them, uncertain if that made it better or worse. Shouting sounded and a nurse went running down the hall. It sounded like they were trying to calm a patient. The group stood and turned towards the commotion. Meanwhile, the elevator arrived, depositing Singh on the floor. The group didn't notice, the screaming and yelling keeping them turned away.

"What the hell is that noise?" Singh demanded, slowing to a stop next to Joe. A nurse raced from a room sprinting for the nurse's station. "Miss, I'm Cpt. David Singh from CCPD, do you require assistance?" He brandished his badge as he spoke.

"Anything you can tell us about the patient you have a guard on would be good," the nurse informed him, looking up from paging a doctor.

"That's Wells making all that noise?" Singh couldn't believe his ears. At that moment a name was shouted loudly enough to be understood.

"Jesse!" The shout echoed down the hallway.

"Daddy!" Jesse cried out at the sound of her name and bolted down the hallway. Singh, the nurse, and the rest of team Flash followed her. "Daddy, I'm here," Jesse called as she entered the darkened room. An orderly with a bloody nose was leaning against one wall while two others were trying to hold Harry down. For his part, Harry was thrashing on the bed trying to free his arms and legs. "Dad!" Jesse shouted and Harry whipped his head around towards her.

"Jesse?" He whispered her name and tried to see her through the darkness. "Jesse, is that you?" His blue eyes roved blindly around the room. "Are you okay, did they hurt you?"

"Daddy, I'm fine," Jesse answered, eyes going wide as she realized that while her father might be looking at her, he saw nothing.

"When did they get you?" As he questioned her, Harry started tugging at his restraints again, desperate to free himself and his baby girl. The Colonel had said she was going to get him to safety, but something must have gone wrong, because he was strapped down again.

"Dr. Wells," Singh began, glancing at the oddly silent group.

"My name is John Harold Chambers. I am a retired Navy Commander! How many times do I have to tell you that I am not Harrison Wells!" He yelled the name, loosing control of his emotions and pulling harder at the restraints. He had to get free so he could save Jesse.

"He thinks he's still being held captive," Caitlin realized. She pushed her way into the room frowning at the orderlies who were trying to tighten the straps holding Harry's wrists. "Dr. Chambers, calm down. You're safe now." Glancing at Joe, who nodded, Caitlin pushed an orderly out of the way and started to undo the strap holding Harry's right hand. Jesse raced around to undo the other side.

"Snow?" Harry cocked his head, trying to hear and identify all the sounds around him. He was still trapped in a world of complete blackness, but at least he was hearing familiar voices.

"Yes, Johnny. It's me," Caitlin assured him. "We're at the hospital. They've done their best to treat your injuries."

"The hospital?" Harry started to relax. "I'm sorry. I woke up and they were calling me Wells and I couldn't move my arms," Harry blathered. "I assumed I was still captive."

"It's okay," Caitlin soothed. "They should have known not to strap you down." She frowned at the livid bruises and abrasions on his wrist. The skin around his eyes was red and he had turned his head so that he was staring at his own lap, head cocked like he was listening. "Johnny, can you tell me who took you?" Her gaze flitted to the heart monitor which registered an increased rate.

"No. I didn't know them. I don't know what they wanted. The man kept trying to get me to admit I'm Harrison," he answered, speaking softly and breathing faster.

"Okay, that's just fine," Caitlin soothed, sensing his increasing agitation.

"I don't want to be here. Please, can we go now?" He was trying not to beg, but Harry was exhausted and in pain. The hum from the overhead lights was assaulting his ears and the bedding felt scratchy against his skin. His injuries from Eiling were acting as a constant reminder of the past 36 hours and what they had entailed.

"We need to confirm your identity first," Singh spoke up. Harry turned his head towards the man, frowning deeply as he tried to place a name to the voice.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Harry was getting irritated. While the world around him was dark, he had a feeling that everyone was staring at him. He could also tell that the group in his room was larger than Jesse, Snow, and the stranger who had just spoken.

"Captain David Singh," he offered a hand, but the other man didn't move, clinging to Caitlin's hand instead. Harry wanted Jesse's, but she had stepped back after freeing him. "I have a CSI comparing your prints to those of Dr. Wells. We just want to cover all our bases."

Harry snorted in annoyance. "First I get kidnapped and tortured because of him; now I'm stuck here." He turned away from most of the group, his blind gaze unknowingly settling near Jesse.

"Maybe we can get you released into my custody," Joe suggested, looking to his Captain to see if it would be okay.

"West?" Harry shouldn't have been surprised to discover the detective was there.

"Yeah, Johnny, I'm here," Joe admitted, glancing at the others in the group. "We're all here. We were worried when you didn't come home. We found the tranquilizer dart."

"Yeah, and your phone," Cisco piped up.

"Ramon," Harry nodded at the doorway. Great, he was the center of attention. "Look, Captain Singh, Jesse and I are staying at S.T.A.R. labs for now. If there is anyway you would be willing to let me go home, I would appreciate it."

Frowning, Singh looked around the group. "Fine," he agreed with a sigh. "Let me make sure the hospital collected all the evidence from you they could. West, get his statement please."

"They cut off my trousers in the ambulance," Harry supplied. "I was just outside the lab when a dart hit me in my neck. I had enough time to jab the dart into Snow's tire and dial Jesse before someone came to collect me. I tried to fight whoever grabbed me but the drug was extremely powerful."

"Man, they cut my trousers," Joe grumbled as he wrote down what Harry said.

"Sorry about that, West," Harry said seriously. "Unfortunately, my captors cut off my dress coat and shirt. I have no idea what happened to my boots." At the thought of his poor missing boots, Harry looked both sad and upset.

"I'm sure we can find you something,"Caitlin supplied. "Barry, can you race back to the lab and grab some clothes for Johnny?"

Glancing at Singh, Barry nodded and jogged out of the room. "Alright, Joe," Singh began. "I will check with hospital staff and then head back to the precinct. If those fingerprints provided match your man here, we arrest him for murder. You understand?"

"Yes sir," Joe agreed. He watched his captain leave and then turned back to Harry. "Let's get you out of here." Throwing back the covers, Harry sat up with Caitlin's help. The three men who had been trying to hold Harry down left, shooting annoyed looks at the man. Barry returned with an armful of clothes minus a jacket, which had caught on fire on the way over. Eventually, they got Harry dressed, checked out, and back to the lab.

 **S.T.A.R. Labs - Cortex**

Once in the lab, Caitlin took Harry to examine him while the rest of the group paced the main portion of the cortex. Now that her father was safe, Jesse had withdrawn, shying away from his touch and ignoring his attempts to speak with her. "He killed a man," she snapped when Cisco suggested she at least talk to her father. "Just because he was kidnapped doesn't change the fact that he murdered a man in cold blood."

Barry and Cisco looked to Joe, who shrugged, "She is right. We need to decide how we want to deal with him. Even though Turtle was a killer, Harry can't walk around acting as judge, jury, and executioner."

"He was trying to stop Zoom and save Jesse," Cisco supplied. After Barry had pointed out Cisco choosing Dante over Barry's identity, the engineer had started looking at Harry's actions a bit differently. "It is totally freaky that he was willing to kill someone, but Joe shot Mardon to save you Barry."

"Mardon was still a danger and not in custody," Joe countered. He was about to say more, but Caitlin stepped out. Glancing back towards the medical bed Harry was sitting on, she pressed her lips firmly together and shifted her gaze to the group. "Well?" Joe finally asked after several minutes of silence.

"It was Eiling," Caitlin began. "Apparently he knew Dr. Wells was a speedster and wanted to know how Harry was controlling his speed and healing. When Harry didn't heal, Eiling started torturing him, inflicting the maximum amount of pain while keeping him alive. He is covered in cuts, burns, and bruises from Eiling trying to force him to heal."

"And his eyes?" Barry asked, looking in at the man sitting with his back to them. "How bad are they?" They had all figured out at the hospital that he was, at least for the moment, blind.

"He said Eiling lost his temper and threw some kind of chemical in his face. The doctor helping Eiling flushed Harry's eyes with water, but it may not have been fast enough. Right now, he is completely blind. His pupils are not responding to stimuli at all. Without knowing what the chemical was, I can't say for sure if it will be permanent." Caitlin looked away, letting out a breath and taking another deep one. She was used to working on Barry. While he had suffered some serious injuries, the only permanent one she worried about was death. She hadn't had to face something permanently life altering like this since the accelerator explosion.

"You mean that it could be permanent?" Joe asked. Caitlin nodded, licking her lips and squaring her shoulders . "And he was tortured." Another nod, this time, Caitlin crossed her arms.

"There is also a concern for his emotional well being. Harry said something that suggests that he has been tortured before. Jesse, do you know anything about his military service?"

"Only that he was a Seal in the Navy," Jesse began.

"Wait, you mean that stuff was real? I thought ARGUS just put it in there as a joke," mused Cisco. "He was seriously a Seal."

Jesse stared at him, waiting for the engineer to get over his shock. "Yes. Dad joined right out of high school so he could get the educational benefits. When his abilities became clear; his aptitude for languages, science, and ability to adapt in a fight, he was sent for Seal training. He doesn't talk about it much and had retired by the time I was born."

"Retired?" Joe found that hard to believe.

"Special circumstances," Jesse answered with a shrug. "Something happened and he was one of two members of his unit to survive. Mom always said to let him leave the past with the dead so I have no idea what happened. Uncle T-Bone wouldn't talk about it either."

"T-Bone?" Cisco was on the verge of laughing. Probably because the idea of Eiling torturing Harry had made his stomach roll. He needed to lighten the mood or he was going to be sick

"The other survivor," Caitlin supplied. "Johnny mentioned him. Said Eiling's idea of torture was a walk in the park compared to what he and T-Bone went through. Guys, I know we need to do something about what happened with Turtle, but we need to be careful. Our actions could scar him psychologically."

"Do what you think is best," Harry said from the doorway, making them all jump. "I'm tougher than I look." He wasn't looking at them, instead he had his head turned to maximize what he was hearing. "Until you reach your decision, can I at least get some food and a drink?" Holding the door frame with one hand, he slid one foot down the ramp, slowly easing his way into the room. "If you aren't comfortable with me roaming free, put me in the pipeline and lock me out of the computer system." Near the bottom of the ramp, he let go of the frame and held his arms up, surrendering to Joe once more.

Before he could answer, Joe's phone rang. Glancing at the man waiting to be punished, Joe answered, "Yeah, Captain." There was a pause as Joe listened. "That's great news. I'll let Johnny know." He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Well?" Cisco asked, everyone else nodding.

"The fingerprints from Thawne are not a match to me. My identity as John Chambers has been confirmed," Harry informed them before Joe could. "Sorry, West. I couldn't help but listen." A stunned silence permeated the room. Harry broke it, "Lead me to the pipeline, West?"

"Yeah," Joe agreed. Annoyingly, Harry was right. It made the most sense to lock the other man in the pipeline until the rest of the group could decide how to handle his punishment. Glancing at the team, Joe walked over to stand next to Harry, unsettled by the sightless blue eyes. "Here." Taking Harry's left hand, Joe put it around his right elbow and slowly set off for intake 52.

A few minutes later, Harry sat on the floor of his cell. He listened to the door close and tensed up as the unit moved, returning to its home position. When the motion stopped, he tucked his knees tightly to his chest, hugging them and rocking. Left alone in his now dark world, memories floated up, making Harry whimper. The past pain had been held at bay a long time. Losing Jesse because of his own actions had put a hole in his damn. The memory of the Colonel put another hole, and Jesse's silence back in the cortex had blasted the damn down. He was completely alone in the blackness and Harry sobbed, losing the battle against painful memories and thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10: After Shock

_**Greetings and salutations. My apologies for the extended gaps between my postings. I've been dealing with family, work stress, and depression. I'm trying to get back into it, but it might be a bit. That said, thank you to everyone who has PM'd me or left me reviews on my stories. They really help me keep going even if you don't hear back from me. All mistakes are my own, so any crimes against the English Language are my doing. I do my best. Enjoy! - Troll**_

 **Chapter 10: After Shock**

Jesse watched her father on the computer screen. It had been nearly a day since he had been found and had slept locked in the pipeline while the group tried to decide how to handle the murder of Turtle. Caitlin had been taking Harry food while Jesse kept her distance, watching via the cameras. The father and daughter had managed one conversation where Jesse had told Harry just how she felt. Her disappointment in seeing the fall of her hero, despite knowing what he might have felt while she was missing. Harry had remained oddly silent as Jesse explained what kind of man she'd wanted him to be verses the man he really was. His silence had made it a rather one sided conversation.

"How is he doing?" Caitlin asked, coming in and sitting down next to Jesse. "Has he even moved?" Harry was still huddled against one wall of the cell, tucked up taking as little space as possible. The shoes they had borrowed from Thawne's office were on the opposite side of the cell. After he had finished eating, Harry had pulled the shoes off and thrown them.

"Not really," Jesse admitted. "I think he's asleep. Aside from muttering a few times, he's been quiet." They were silent, watching the man on the screen. "Will his vision return?" Jesse asked softly.

Caitlin opened her mouth to answer but a scream sounded from the screen and both women watched in shock as Harry bolted to his feet, across the cell, and hard into the wall. He hit with a resounding thud, bounced off, and crumpled to the floor. He stayed where he fell, groaning. "I need to check him," Caitlin declared, getting to her feet and racing for the pipeline. Jesse followed more sedately, glancing at the image on the screen as she stood. Her feelings about her father were still in a jumble.

They met Cisco and Barry in the hallway. While they had been working in Cisco's rooms they had the video feed from the pipeline pulled up. The two had heard rather than seen Harry's header into the wall. As the quartet raced down to the pipeline, Caitlin filled them in on what she had seen. "It almost looked like he just woke up terrified," Caitlin exclaimed. They reached the pipeline where Barry had already summoned the cell and was waiting for it to arrive. When it did, Harry hadn't moved.

As Caitlin stepped into the cell, Harry groaned and slowly started to sit up. "Who the hell turned off the lights?" Harry grumbled, putting a hand gingerly to his head. "Lib?" He called the name and then frowned. With a wince he pressed a palm to his temple and huffed. "Turn your brain on man. Libby died." He let out a breath of air and started to get up, unaware that he had an audience. "And the lights aren't out. You're blind and talking to yourself." Trying to stifle a chuckle, Cisco snorted. Harry spun around to face the group, shock sending his eyebrows up. He wavered, dizzy from the move. "Ramon?"

"Yes, Dr. Chambers," Cisco answered, still chuckling some. "Do you always talk to yourself?"

"Only when I want an intelligent conversation," Harry sniped.

"Oh, he burned you," Barry cheered.

"Barry?" Harry's eyes went wide as he realized Ramon wasn't the only one there. "Who else is here?"

"All of us except Joe," Caitlin supplied, giving Cisco a look. "Now, I'm going to help you out of there and take you up to the cortex. I need to examine your head. Put your shoes on."

"My head? The only thing wrong with my head are my eyes," Harry protested. Smiling gently at him, Caitlin retrieved the shoes and pressed them into his hands.

"You ran headlong into the cell wall. Judging by that cut on your forehead, you did so with some speed," Caitlin lectured. "Shoes."

"Fine. Whatever," he grumbled. Holding the shoes against his stomach with one hand, he reached out with the other and used the cell wall as a guide to the floor. Sitting, he paused to figure out which was the left and which was the right shoe. Already, Caitlin knew better than to try to help him. The argument they had at the hospital had been enough. After a few false starts, Harry managed to get his shoes on and tied. As he got to his feet, he grunted in pain and pressed his hand to his left side.

"I'll check your wounds as well," Caitlin informed him as she guided him out of the cell. "Now, can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

"You ordering me to put Thawne's shoes on," Harry grumped. He was struggling with the fact that he was dependent on her as a guide. If his vision didn't return, he would have to work on becoming more familiar with the lab. With each step he took, the shoes squeaked and his breath caught as he hit the floor sooner than he expected.

"Okay, do you remember running into the cell wall?" Caitlin slowed her pace, aware that Harry wasn't comfortable walking yet.

"I remember dreaming," Harry answered. "Stop, please. This is dizzying." His words were enough to bring Caitlin to a halt. Behind them, Barry, Cisco, and Jesse all paused, the girl watching her father wearily. "Thank you." As they stopped, Harry took several slow breaths, leaning forwards and trying to find his balance.

"The toxicology tests showed a number of drugs in your system when you were found. Your body should completely metabolize them all soon but there might be some lingering effects," Caitlin informed him, watching him closely. "Better?" It was obvious that he was struggling, but she wasn't going to just force him to accept her help.

"Yes," Harry answered, standing tall. "Has anyone informed Dr. McGee that I will not be finishing the security upgrade?" As he spoke, Harry squared his shoulders, let out a breath, and started walking once more.

"Joe took care of it," Barry answered.

"Good. Thank him for me the next time you see him," Harry instructed. Barry nodded without thinking, forgetting that the other man couldn't see him. "Snow, can you please tell me when we reach the cortex?"

"Of course," Caitlin agreed softly.

"Mr. Al, I've been thinking of ways to increase your speed," Harry continued. As he spoke, he also intently focused on the way everything sounded, trying to build a map in his mind.

"Yeah, I have too. What about a drug?" Barry suggested. "Something that could give me a temporary boost like nitrous does for cars." He'd been helping Wally with a project when the idea had hit.

"I've made a number of improvements to a drug Harry and I came up with, but it has the nasty side effect of killing you," Caitlin explained. "We're here," she informed Harry. "I'm going to guide you to the exam bed. I know you're body is basically one giant injury, so I'll let you get comfortable before I begin the exam."

"Wait, you guys came up with a drug that can make a speedster faster?" Anger raised Barry's voice making Harry wince.

"Volume please, Mr. Allen," Harry requested as he grasped the side of the bed, one hand covering the ear closest to Barry. Eyes narrowing, Caitlin noted the stiffness in Harry's movements.

"Yes, we came up with a drug. It can increase the speed of a speedster as well as temporarily bestow speed upon a normal person, but it causes severe cellular degradation which will result in death," Caitlin lectured. "Harry, go ahead and strip down please. I know the hospital treated all your injuries, but I would like to have a proper look at them." She shot Barry a glare, clearly indicating that the discussion was over.

"Just minor wounds," Harry responded, tightening his grip on the bed. When he had first come back from the hospital, Harry had let Snow check his eyes but nothing else. She didn't need to see what Eiling had done to him. From what she had told him, he knew Snow had read the hospital report.

"I understand that, but as your doctor, I need to see them with my own eyes," Caitlin informed him. Grumbling under his breath, Harry started to pull his shirt off, pausing to turn his blind gaze at the others.

"Fine, but can I have some privacy?" If he'd been able, he would have glowered at Cisco and Barry. Trying not to think about his silent daughter, he listened to the shuffling of feet as Caitlin gave the other three a look, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, sorry Dr. Chambers," Cisco muttered. Together, he, Barry, and Jesse shuffled out of the room. To Barry's amusement, Cisco went to the computers and pulled up the room's camera. Shrugging, Cisco sat. "What? I think we should know what Eiling did to him," Cisco whispered. Giving his friend a look, Barry turned off the feed.

"We can ask later," Barry responded softly. For her part, Jesse gazed in through the windows, watching her father shed clothing.

In the exam room, Caitlin watched as Harry removed his undershirt. He stood, awkwardly for a moment. "Trousers as well," Caitlin nagged. Before he could protest, she continued, "I know you have burns on your legs and pelvis." She could tell by the frown Harry wore that he wasn't happy with her demands. "Johnny," she began softly, aware the others were just a room over. "Please. I want to help you, but you have to let me see and know what was done to you." Reaching out, she gently touched a bruise-free spot on his shoulder. He pulled away and then swayed back towards her with a sigh.

"Fine," his shoulders sagged as he breathed the single word. Letting his eyes close tiredly, he undid his belt, then the button and zipper. As his trousers slid to the floor, Caitlin studied the bruises, cuts, and burns that littered his body. Clearly, Eiling had been doing more than just trying to make the scientist use super healing. Caitlin hadn't pushed him for information the other day. Seeing the extensive injuries, she was both happy and sad she hadn't. There was a good chance Harry wasn't dealing with it yet. Pushing him too early might just push him away. "What did my doppelganger do to Eiling?" Harry asked softly, well aware that Caitlin was staring at his wounds. He stood awkwardly by the bed, forcing his hands to stay down rather than try to cover his naked chest. Snow had said she needed a good look at what was done to him.

"Uh," Caitlin blinked and shook herself. "Thawne gave Eiling to Grodd," she managed to answer. They hadn't really talked when Harry had first returned. He hadn't been willing to say much. Now, with a night between himself and the trauma, Harry was aware that he was willing to open up.

"I didn't think it was just about speedster healing," Harry mused softly to himself. With a defeated sigh, he groped around on the bed, working his way onto it. As he settled down with his legs hanging off the side, he tried to figure out where exactly Caitlin stood. "Snow, say something please. I hate this feeling." His voice was a soft growl and if she listened closely, Caitlin could hear his fear.

"Sorry," Caitlin began. "So, has there been any improvement with your eyes?" As she spoke, she stepped up, letting one hand rest on his bicep so he'd know where she was.

"Nope. Still all black," Harry replied almost cheerfully.

"Look straight towards my voice," Caitlin ordered, standing in front of him, penlight ready. Doing his best to follow her orders, Harry fought to control his breathing as she checked his pupils.

"Has Jesse said anything to you?" Harry asked softly, opting to distract himself from his physical discomforts. Normally he didn't like discussing his private life with others, but he wasn't feeling much like his usual self. Far from it in fact. Emotions were rampaging through him on a wave of pain and memories. He needed to find an anchor. Maybe Snow could help.

"No. Give her time," Caitlin ordered. "Finding out her father killed somebody in an attempt to save her life is a big reveal." A single, almost bark of a laugh escaped his lips and Harry turned his head away.

"I get her back only to lose her again," he muttered to himself.

"I'd like you to try wearing sunglasses for a while," Caitlin began, ignoring his pity party. She wasn't sure what to do for his mental health, so she decided to focus on his physical health. "I had Cisco pick up some I special ordered when we brought you home yesterday."

"Filter out any potentially harmful rays and protect my eyes to help promote healing?" Harry guessed. A bitter part of him wondered why bother, but he pushed it aside.

"Yes," Caitlin couldn't keep the surprise from her voice or face.

"You shouldn't sound so shocked. I'm not a medical doctor but I do know a thing or two," Harry chided her. "I suppose you'll also be wanting to drag me off to some specialist if there continues to be no improvement tomorrow," he added, his voice layered with irritation.

"Harry, I just want you to get better," Caitlin lectured him. "I know you're hurting right now, but I'm here to help. Lashing out at me doesn't do you any good." She was giving the speech prematurely, but she could see his anger and frustration building.

Clenching his fists tightly, Harry let out a huff of air. Pressing his lips firmly together, he turned his head away from her. "Fine," he eventually responded tightly. "Whatever you think is best, Doctor Snow." He fell silent, and Caitlin started going over his injuries. He was littered with them.

"It would help if you could tell me what he used on you," Caitlin said, frowning at shallow cuts on his chest.

"For some of the cuts he used a Swiss Army knife, but I think he used each blade at least once. Other cuts are from his Army knife, combat blade. The burns are from cigars and various chemicals," Harry answered coldly. "My eyes was some random chemical he grabbed from the table. I honestly can't say really. By the time the Colonel came to my rescue, I was in a great deal of pain and pretty doped up." He managed a shrug, ignoring the pain it brought. "I suppose that in a way, I deserved all of it. Thawne is responsible for the metas here and I'm responsible for the metas on my Earth, including Zoom." His right hand drifted up towards his eyes but then dropped into his lap. "A darkness of my own making. Just as I have failed to be the father Jesse needed."

"These wounds will heal," Caitlin said softly. "A few will scar. Just use them as reminders of the man you want to be for your daughter. Reminders that it hurts to mess up, but you can still make a difference."

"Can I?" There was a bitterness to his voice. "I abandoned my Earth to a monster I created. My actions have chased my daughter mentally and emotionally away from me. I know she's standing in the other room, but she's only here physically. If I hadn't been taken by Eiling, do you think she would have stayed?"

Glancing through the glass at Jesse, who was silently shifting her weight from foot to foot, Caitlin smiled sadly at the young lady. "I know she just got a taste of what you went through for four months."

"Just proves how different we are under pressure," Harry sighed. "Can I get dressed now?" Caitlin was finishing looking him over, saddened by the amount of damage his body had taken.

"Yes, but I'm going to schedule you with a specialist for your eyes. You might also benefit from speaking with a psychologist or psychiatrist," Caitlin lectured him, stepping back to grab the glasses she'd had Cisco order for her. "Here are your glasses."

"I'm fine. I don't need to talk to anyone. As for my eyes; I'll do whatever you deem is necessary," a defeated but still fighting Harry told her. "Thank you. For the glasses." Blindly he groped in front of himself so Caitlin moved the glasses to where he'd find them. "Sorry," he apologized when their hands smacked together. Taking the frames, he carefully put them on, cocking his head to one side. "Good?"

"Perfect," Caitlin assured him. "That should help protect them from any harmful rays while they heal. The skin that the chemical damaged is healing well enough that I don't think we need to cover it. Go ahead and get dressed. Tonight I'll need to redress some of your wounds."

"Thank you, Snow," he said softly. Caitlin smiled and nodded, remembered that he couldn't see her, and patted his hand.

"No problem, Harry," she assured him. "I'm going to talk to the others while you get dressed." Harry nodded and Caitlin left the room. As she passed Jesse, she let her hand fall on the young woman's shoulder. "You need to talk to him. Really talk to him," Caitlin suggested softly.

"I'm not ready," Jesse countered. "He wasn't even listening to me earlier."

"Maybe, but I think he was." With a sad smile, Caitlin turned to the rest of the group. Joe had arrived while she had been checking Harry. "We need to decide his punishment." Her gaze travelled around the room as she leaned against the desk.

"Punishment? Caitlin, if he wasn't the doppleganger of a dead confessed killer who murdered a meta we had illegally incarcerated, he'd be in jail," Joe pointed out. "The way you're talking it sounds like he just needs to be grounded or something."

"I think we can all agree that it was extenuating circumstances," Cisco pointed out.

"We can't keep him locked up downstairs in the pipeline for the rest of his life," Barry argued. He tried not to let his gaze wander towards the room where Harry was slowly getting dressed. "He is part of this team and we need him."

"How much good can he do while he's blind?" Joe demanded. Between Eobard and Harry, Joe found it hard to trust the scientist, even though Harry wasn't Eobard.

"You know there's special computers that a blind person can use. You'd be amazed what a person with a handicap can accomplish," a female voice said from the door. As one the group turned to see Felicity Smoak leaning against the frame. "I can set one up for you while I'm here," she offered, pushing off the wall and entering the room. "But who's blind?" She looked around the group, worried about them all.

"Harry," Barry answered, jerking a thumb towards the room with the man.

"Who are you?" Jesse asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, gosh, sorry," Barry babbled. "Right, Felicity Smoak, this is Jesse Wells, I mean Chambers," Barry fumbled through the introductions. "Jesse, this is our friend Felicity Smoak." The two women started to shake hands but Felicity paused.

"Wait, Wells? Like Harrison Wells?" Felicity couldn't hide her surprise.

"Chambers. As in Johnny Chambers," countered Jesse. Felicity's brow furrowed but she then she remembered what Diggle had told her about helping the Earth 2 Wells family.

"Uhm, Felicity, what can we do for you?" Caitlin asked, frowning towards the exam room as a clatter sounded followed by Harry swearing.

"Oh, we were hoping for some help," Felicity supplied.

"Who is we?" Harry asked carefully entering the room. Before anyone could answer, somebody screamed loudly. "What the hell?" Harry hadn't been expecting a scream, let alone the torrent of speech that followed it.

"Oh my God you're Harrison Wells. I thought you were dead? Wait, didn't you confess to killing someone?" The words tumbled out of the newcomer's mouth so fast that only Barry and Felicity seemed to get them all.

"Who are you?" Cisco asked, looking annoyed. "And how did you two get past my security?"

"You have security?" The strange man asked, looking surprised.

"I bypassed it," Felicity supplied. "I thought I told you to wait in the car. Nevermind. Everybody, this is Curtis. Curtis, this is everybody."

"For the record, I'm not Harrison Wells. My name is John Chambers. Dr. Wells and I were apparently monozygotic twins. Can somebody please help me back?" Harry's words were dry, devoid of emotion. He hated asking for help, but saw no point standing around while Barry and the others talked amongst themselves. It seemed he was mostly ignored.

"I'm not a dog," Curtis shot back at Felicity, his gaze rapidly flitting around the room. He desperately wanted to see and touch all the technology. "You can't just tell me to wait in the car and expect me to obey."

"Can somebody please take me back to my room?" Harry requested again. He didn't know what was going on but the high speed speech of the other man was giving him a headache.

"Johnny and his daughter came to us for help but really they've helped us more," Caitlin explained as she stepped forwards. "I'm going to put your hand on my elbow, Johnny."

"Thank you, Snow." His voice sounded tired. After Caitlin guided his hand, he clung to her elbow, hoping she wouldn't make him wait too long before taking him back to the cell.

"Neat. I'm Felicity Smoak, head of Palmer Technologies. This is Curtis Holt, one of my employees," Felicity said, motioning at the hyperactive man who had followed her inside.

"Nice to meet you both," Harry said with an inclination of his head. "I'm sorry. I've recently lost my eyesight and am frustrated by my inability to contribute. My apologies if I'm a bit grumpy." Cisco's face filled with surprise. Harry admitting that he was grumpy and apologizing for it? Hell must have frozen over.

"No problem. Though, Felicity is right. There are computers and programs that you can use to help you work," Curtis supplied. "My husband actually had me tweak one for a client of his. He's a physical therapist. My husband, not his client. His client was blind." Before Curtis could continue, Harry held his free hand up.

"Thank you, Mr. Holt. I appreciate your enthusiasm. If you have time once you have finished whatever brought you here, I would welcome any help you could give me in adapting to my loss," Harry managed. He wanted to grump and growl, but Holt clearly had no idea what was going on, so there was no point. Besides, Ramon was probably beside himself with annoyance at Harry not acting normal. It amused the older scientist to imagine the look on the engineer's face. Just because he couldn't see didn't mean he wasn't going to annoy Ramon.

"Sure, not a problem," Curtis agreed.

"I'll be right back. I'm just going to help Johnny get settled back into his room," Caitlin explained. Nodding at Curtis and smiling at Felicity, she then led the blind scientist out of the room.

 ** _Okay, I know that folks have some questions/issues. First, I'll address the SEAL aspect of Harry's life later. Second, I made him a blind for a reason. That should become clear in a few chapters. Third, thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently and putting up with my inconsistent postings. My apologies. I'm doing my best. My vampiric zombie beta has been available for fobbing ideas back and forth with, but unable to do editing. That said, big thanks to DoctorHarrisonWells for putting up with my random inane messages. You rock. - Troll_**


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